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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047807">Echo from the other side of the Mirror</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourConsentingMind/pseuds/YourConsentingMind'>YourConsentingMind</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Kirby (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Amnesia, Angst, Chatfic Elements, Chatlogs, Chatting &amp; Messaging, Childhood Memories, Everyone's a lil fucked up ngl, F/F, F/M, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Marx was also possessed by Dark Matter pre-Milky Way Wishes, Memory Loss, Mental Health Issues, Multi, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Kirby Star Allies, Recovered Memories, Repressed Memories, Sad with a Happy Ending, Trauma, and im only going off of info i know from various sources, as i have not played the game myself yet, at least until kirby and friends murder him fr this time :), dark mind l i v e s, dark taranza is treated as taranza's mirror counterpart, gotta love that kirby games are all cutesy n shit and then you find out everyone's depressed, im not including them in the character tags, sometimes, susies retelling of planet robobot might be inaccurate, taranza loses his memories and is still plagued by the mirror shit, various other characters are mentioned like dark matter n stuff but since they don't appear, yes taranza has a lot of memory issues now. moving on</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 14:33:38</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>21,398</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28047807</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourConsentingMind/pseuds/YourConsentingMind</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Taranza blinks his eyes open slowly.</p><p>He looks around himself. A quiet room, white walls, flowers painted onto them. It feels... almost familiar. Where was he?</p><p>At the bedside was a small table. A vase with a bouquet was placed atop of it, and a colorful card was attached. Taranza grasps the paper carefully, looking inside.</p><p>'Get well soon Taranza!<br/>Kirby &amp; your Star Allies friends!'</p><p>...Who?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Dark Meta Knight/Daroach, Flamberge/Susie | Susanna Patrya Haltmann, Kirby &amp; Magolor (Kirby), Kirby &amp; Mark | Marx, Kirby &amp; Meta Knight, Kirby &amp; Taranza (Kirby), Kirby (Kirby) &amp; Everyone, Magolor/Mark | Marx/Taranza, Queen Sectonia/Taranza (Kirby), Susie | Susanna Patrya Haltmann &amp; Taranza</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>65</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Kirby Chatfics</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. A hard pill to swallow</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Howdy, hey, long time no see to the people who read all my fics and not just the ones from specific fandoms that I rotate through because I do not control the hyperfixation</p><p>Yeah the others are gonna be collecting dust in the corner until I come back to one of those sources through the hyperfixation brain(tm)</p><p>Anyways! I have, uh, a lot of fun making my favorite characters suffer. So here's Taranza getting amnesia and not remembering anything of his time after giving Sectonia the mirror. That's gonna be fun aint it!</p><p>Also I'm mainly working with the times of the game releases as I don't really have anything else to go by for how many years we are at now.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Something soft brushes against his hands. He shuts his eyes harder for a moment, just wanting to go back to sleep.<br/><br/>He groans quietly. It's as if someone had smacked him over the head with a boulder.<br/><br/>Taranza blinks his eyes open slowly.</p><p>He looks around himself. A quiet room, white walls, flowers painted onto them. It feels... almost familiar. Where was he?</p><p>At the bedside was a small table. A vase with a bouquet was placed atop of it, and a colorful card was attached. Taranza grasps the paper carefully, looking inside.</p><p>'Get well soon Taranza!<br/>Kirby &amp; your Star Allies friends!'</p><p>...Who?<br/><br/>There is a window. He looks outside, trying to tell what was going on or what had happened.<br/><br/>...This wasn't Floralia. He didn't see the clouds below himself, and there was a distinct lack of stalks. Something was <em>definitely</em> not right.<br/><br/>Plains stretched out before him. He holds his head-- wait, something was there. A bandage?<br/><br/>So he had been hit over the head! Or had he? Golly, he can't remember. He brought her the mirror- she was so delighted by it- and then... nothing.<br/><br/>Speaking of which – where <em>was</em> Queen Sectonia?<br/><br/>Questions upon questions were running through Taranza's head, and he wasn't sure how to answer them or what to do. Should he just lie back down until someone came?<br/><br/>He still feels tired. Yeah, maybe laying back down and getting more rest was a good idea.<br/><br/>Taranza closes his eyes and settles back down underneath the blanket, trying to just forget all the thoughts racing through his mind and catching some more shuteye.<br/><br/>----<br/><br/><em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b></em><br/><br/><em>8:24 am<br/><br/></em></p><p>funney egg man: <b>@everyone</b> Susie just called. Looks like Taranza finally woke up! Does anyone else want to come see him?<br/><br/>kirbo: Me!!!<br/><br/>everyones favorite clown: count me in<br/><br/>penguin with a crown: Bandana and I can't make it, some trouble at the castle.<br/><br/>Meta: I will come as well.<br/><br/>Susie: <strong>@funney egg man @kirbo @everyones favorite clown @Meta</strong> hurry up please. seems like its worse than i feared.<br/><br/>----</p><p>Taranza blinks in surprise as he hears the door to his room open again. Unlike before, where only the pink-haired girl calling herself Susie came, there was four people now, excluding her.<br/><br/>A small pink puffball, an equally small knight in blue wearing a mask, another equally small person on a ball, wearing a jester hat, and a cloaked person, hovering above the ground, just like he would, was he not told to stay in bed.<br/><br/>The pink one smiles, waves and gives out what Taranza assumes was a greeting, though it only consisted of the word 'poyo'.<br/><br/>He looks in confusion into the group. Some of them seem a bit familiar, but he can't remember from where...<br/><br/>"Taranza," the cloaked figure spoke up, "how are you feeling?"<br/><br/>The spider blinks and tilts his head. How did this person know his name? Who are these people?<br/><br/>"Who... who are you guys? Where's Queen Sectonia?"<br/><br/>A moment of shock settles in with the four newcomers, Susie simply shaking her head. "I told you guys," she said quietly as the cloaked person looks up to her. The group gets together and whispers among each other before they turn back to the spider boy sitting in the bed, looking at them with confusion.<br/><br/>The knight steps closer to Taranza's bed.<br/><br/>"Taranza... Queen Sectonia has been dead for nearly five years now..." he says, and both the hooded figure as well as the jester glare at him for a moment, while the pink one's expression became worried. "Do you really not recognize any of us?"<br/><br/>He was still stuck on the knight's first words. "The queen... is dead..?" he repeats in disbelief. He quickly begins tearing up, though he's moreso stuck in denial. "What day is it?" he asks, holding back sobs.<br/><br/>Susie speaks up. "It's the 9th of January, 2019." she says, looking up from a tablet. She turns towards the four in front of her. "As I've said, it seems like he's suffering from amnesia-" the pink puffball looks up at her confused- "--that means memory loss, Kirby." She looks back at Taranza, who was still stuck in the realization of what was happening, holding his head in his hands, clearly going through a lot right now. "I hope it's only temporary, but I can't say for certain." She shakes her head. "It's good that he at least remembers <em>some</em> things."<br/><br/>The pink-haired girl then walks past the others, up to Taranza, who looks at her, wiping away some tears that had managed to form. "Taranza... I know this is a lot to take in," -the spider gives a nod- "but I need to ask you a few questions. Do you think you can do that?"<br/><br/>Taranza blinks, before giving a quiet "yes". Susie turns to look at the other four. "Guys, I know you all probably have a lot of questions and concerns, but I'm gonna have to ask you all to leave the room so he can focus. We don't want to overwhelm him."<br/><br/>The four, though begrudgingly, left the room to leave Susie and Taranza some space to talk in peace.<br/><br/>Susie looks back down at her tablet, seemingly opening a file, though Taranza couldn't quite see, as it was upside down.<br/><br/>"I know this is probably a lot to take in..." she murmurs, scrolling down on the pad, before looking up. "I get what you're going through right now. I... have been there, kind of, I guess. If you feel overwhelmed or anything, just say the word, I'll stop asking questions."<br/><br/>Taranza nods slowly, watching Susie closely. This was all so confusing, and then he learns he has forgotten the last eight years of his life, and she is dead and--- nothing makes sense right now. It was too much to process in a matter of minutes, really. But he doesn't want to keep Susie waiting with her questions until he's gone through all this new information, and he'd rather just not think about it right now anyways. Besides, he is... a bit interested to learn whatever else has happened in the 8 years of his life that he doesn't recall anymore.<br/><br/>"Are you ready?" the pink-haired girl asks, to which Taranza responds with yet another nod.</p><p>"Okay, let's see here..."<br/><br/>----<br/><br/><br/><em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b></em><br/><br/><em>11:32 am</em></p><p><strong><em>[Admin]</em></strong> <em>Susie has changed nicknames to default.</em></p><p>Susie: <strong>@everyone</strong> Okay, I've changed everyone's names back to default so that our spider friend won't be as confused about who is who once he comes around to reading the messages in this chat.<br/><br/>Susie: For everyone who wasn't there earlier: It appears Taranza is suffering from amnesia after we found him outside the mirror. He's still processing everything I've told him has happened so far. He only seems to remember everything from before the last eight years - his memory appears to end just shortly after he gave Sectonia the mirror. He might behave differently than we remember, so everyone be nice. Yes, that includes you, <strong>@Dark Meta Knight</strong>.<br/><br/>Magolor: <strong>@Susie</strong> Any clue as to what caused it yet?<br/><br/>Susie: <strong>@Magolor</strong> No, not yet. But Meta Knight and I think it's related to whatever happened inside the dimensional mirror. We are working with DMK to figure things out.<br/><br/>Susie: If anyone has any questions, you may text me in DMs to not clutter the chat with unnecessary messages.<br/><br/>Meta Knight: Okay.<br/><br/>Kirby: Okay! （*´▽｀*）<br/><br/>Marx: gotcha<br/><br/>Bandana: woah, seems like we missed a lot... will he be alright?<br/><br/>Susie: Well, he's fine physically. No lasting injuries or something. I can't say as much for his mental state. He will probably have to get to know us again from scratch, at least until his memories come back.<br/><br/>Meta Knight: If they come back.<br/><br/>Bandana: If?<br/><br/>Daroach: if???<br/><br/>Susie: <strong>@Bandana @Daroach</strong> We don't know if it's temporary or permanent amnesia. With time, his memories might come back, or they might be gone forever.<br/><br/>Susie: If we can figure out what happened in the mirror, I may be able to say more. But as of right now, that's where it stands.<br/><br/>Daroach: <strong>@Susie</strong> can we visit him at all???<br/><br/>Susie: <strong>@Daroach</strong> Yes, you can. He's still in his room at my place. But I ask you guys to decide who goes when as to not overwhelm him.<br/><br/>Susie: Also, no visits anymore for today. We need to give him some time to sort his thoughts and process what he's learned from me today.<br/><br/>Susie: I will be going now. If anyone needs anything, remember, DMs. If anything happens, I'll write here or call Magolor so he can tell you the news.<br/><br/>Kirby: Ok, bye Susie!<br/><br/>Bandana: I should probably give the king the news as well, since he's not here right now. Kirby, cya later!<br/><br/>Magolor: Okay, thank you Susie.<br/><br/>----</p><p>Taranza remained in his room like Susie had requested - she said that while he was technically good enough to go, she would like if he stayed a while longer so she could make sure he would be alright.<br/><br/>He was still processing information, really. He learned of all kinds of things he missed out on in the past eight years... The friends he made, what happened with Queen Sectonia (at least what Susie could tell about her), Susie herself and finally, Void Termina and the Star Allies. It was a lot, to say the least.</p><p>What probably hit him the hardest was learning that his best friend was corrupted and crossed a point of no return... Taranza started crying every time he thought about it. He understood what Susie told him. He knew it had to be done, if everything she said was the truth (which he felt it was), but... it was like yesterday that he saw her. He saw her smile, her bright eyes, her excitement... How could such a kind soul have become such a monstrous tyrant? What had changed in the time he doesn't remember anymore?</p><p>Susie also left him a phone, saying it was his. She was luckily able to figure out the passwords quickly, so Taranza would be able to talk to the others via the Dream Friend chat - at least that's what she said. But Taranza hasn't exactly touched it yet.</p><p>He wasn't done sorting through everything he'd heard today, how should he be able to take in any more? Besides, he felt scared of interacting with so many people he didn't know... even if they were supposedly his friends. They were all strangers to him, even if some of them seemed slightly familiar. He doesn't even know their names yet.<br/><br/>Another big issue he had managed to conquer was trying to come to terms with the fact that it was not the day he thought it was. No, he felt like he was sent eight years into the future without any knowledge of what happened in that time. But the proof that it was the truth was pretty much everywhere. He couldn't for the life of him remember anything past giving her the mirror, but he trusted that these strangers were not setting him up for some elaborate trap. No, everything they'd done so far seemed too genuine for that... especially the concern of his visitors this morning. They seemed really worried... there's no way they could've faked concern that well for someone who they didn't know. Right?</p><p>Although he didn't know any of them, as of right now, he sincerely hopes that his memories will come back. Preferably sooner than later. Susie said some things about what might help recovering them, but he didn't feel quite so assured that it would work.</p><p>He caught Susie and the blue masked knight, whose name he now knew was Meta Knight, talk about what could've caused his amnesia. They mentioned a mirror...<br/><br/>He shakes his head, looking around the room. It was night outside... He should probably get some shut-eye.<br/><br/>Yeah, that sounds good. Taranza settles into the bed he has spent most of the day in anyways, pulling the blanket over himself, shutting his eyes, slowly drifting away into an uneasy sleep, him still plagued by so many thoughts all at once.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Dark reflections</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taranza has some mirror-related nightmares.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>No proofread from here on out we die like men</p><p>also im gonna be using chatfic sections to show what the others are up to most of the time from here on out</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>No. No no no no.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Oh, this was a horrible idea. He should've never gone to the mirror. He should've expected the horrors that laid behind it after seeing what happened to <strong>her</strong>, and that should've been enough to keep him from trying his damnedest to get her back, despite full well knowing that such a thing was impossible. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And yet he went in anyways, despite all the red flags and warning signs that he <strong>chose</strong> to ignore in favor of trying to find her, despite knowing she had been dead for years. He never fully moved on - every night, it haunted him anew.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He scrambled to find some place to hide, or the exit, or someone who could help him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A devious giggle sounded off from behind him, not all that far away anymore.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He quickly gets behind a pillar in the ruin, aware that it wasn't a good hiding spot, but he had no other choice right now.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>If he gets out of this alive, he is <strong>never ever</strong> going back into this mirror, that much he promises himself.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As he looks out from his cover for just a moment, he sees the far away grin, hidden behind an orb of dark magic that was coming right towards him. He couldn't even dodge it anymore.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Just as he felt the stinging pain from the sphere, he blacked out.</em>
</p><p>-----</p><p>Taranza tosses and turns in bed, looking more and more distressed. Susie slowly places a hand on his shoulder, causing Taranza to shoot up, letting out a scream. He looks around in a panic, clearly scared of someone, but then it settles slowly as he sees that only Susie was there. He holds his head in two of his hands, afraid, tearing up.</p><p>It takes him several moments to notice Susie was saying his name. He blinks, looking at her, fear still clear in his expression. Susie, on the other hand, clearly looked worried.</p><p>"Are you alright? What happened?" she asks. Taranza grasps at the blanket with shaky hands, pulling it closer to himself. He takes a deep breath and tries to start explaining.</p><p>"I... I had a dream? I- I'm not sure if it was a dream..." He looks down. "It... It almost seemed too real to just be a dream... but I don't know what it was about."</p><p>Susie's worried expression doesn't leave. "There was a, uhm, a mirror? I-I think? And... and someone who looked almost like me, but- I'm not sure, it was so quick, and--" He inhales sharply as his anxiety spikes again. He begins crying.</p><p>The pink-haired girl softly pats his back, rubbing it calmingly. "Hey, hey, it will be alright..." she murmured quietly. She knew she wasn't exactly all that good at this comforting stuff.</p><p>"Would you like a hug?" she asks, unsure what else she could offer. Taranza nods hesitantly, and Susie wraps her arms around him in an attempt to provide some form of comfort at least. After a while, Taranza relaxes and stops sobbing. They let go.</p><p>"Th-thank you, Susie..." he mutters, looking at the other with a nervous smile. Susie returns a friendly expression. "It's not a problem. You are my friend, after all," she replies. "Will you be okay? I... need to do some things for a bit,"</p><p>Taranza tilts his head, but then nods. "I- I think so," he answers, still a bit shaken up from his nightmare.</p><p>Susie smiles. "If you need anything, you can just call me, okay?" she says, getting up, ready to leave Taranza with his own thoughts again. Taranza gives a hum of agreement, settling back down into his bed.</p><p>The girl quietly shuts the door behind herself as Taranza closes his eyes, trying to fall back asleep, hopefully not to be disturbed by bad dreams again.</p><p>-------</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>6:42 am</em>
</p><p>Susie: <strong>@everyone</strong> Small update. Taranza just woke up from a nightmare a few minutes ago. He's calmed down and has gone back to sleep since, but I thought you all might want to know. He said the dream didn't really seem like a dream to him, but he didn't know why.</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Susie</strong> Did he mention what it was about at all??</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong> what did he dream about</p><p>Daroach: yeah, what the two above said</p><p>Meta Knight: I would also like to know if he mentioned anything.</p><p>Susie: <strong>@Magolor @Marx @Daroach @Meta Knight</strong> He said he thought there was a mirror, as well as someone who looked like him. I'm not sure, but I think it might be connected to whatever happened in the dimensional mirror.</p><p>Meta Knight: Hm, sounds possible. <strong>@Dark Meta Knight</strong> Is there a mirror counterpart to Taranza?</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: Of course there is. I've not seen the guy in a long time though. He was corrupted by Dark Mind like the rest of us, and I haven't heard anything of him since.</p><p>Daroach: so maybe that's who he saw in his dream???</p><p>Magolor: Well, if we assume it was a memory or something and not actually just a dream.</p><p>Daroach: well yeah but who just dreams of their mirror counterpart who they dont even know exists</p><p>Marx: daroach's got a point</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: True</p><p>Meta Knight: <strong>@Susie @Dark Meta Knight</strong> We will have to look into it more.</p><p>Susie: Yeah, you're right. Let's continue that conversation in DMs, though.</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Susie</strong> Has anyone signed up for visits today?</p><p>Daroach: well unless someone dmed her i havent seen anyone reserve the visit for today for themselves</p><p>Susie: <strong>@Magolor</strong> No, not yet. If you want to come, just DM me when you want to come over, so I know when you'll be there.</p><p>Susie: Actually, that's a good idea, Daroach.</p><p>Susie: <strong>@everyone</strong> Whoever wants to visit Taranza on that day simply writes in this chat. That way you guys can figure it out between each other if multiple want to go on the same day. Just remember to DM me when you are coming.</p><p>Daroach: gotcha</p><p>Marx: okay</p><p>Kirby: Alright!! （=´∇｀=）</p><p>----</p><p>Taranza gazes up as the door to his room opens, him having sat by the window and watching the world outside - trees softly swaying from side to side in the wind, petals and leaves floating softly with it.</p><p>In the doorway stood Susie, and the cloaked person from yesterday, talking quietly amongst themselves. Taranza blinks in surprise - he wasn't expecting that anyone would want to visit him.</p><p>The cloaked one gives a wave, smiling, though you couldn't see his mouth, as Susie closes the door behind her as she was leaving the room.</p><p>"Hey Taranza," the cloaked figure says as Taranza straightens his posture a bit. Ah... He seemed familiar, but Taranza could for the life of him not remember who he was or what his name is. It was still odd to hear people talk to him like old friends, despite him not recalling a single thing about them. Susie had told him a lot about their friendship, and while Taranza chose to believe it, it was still hard getting used to the fact that he once knew her, on a far more personal level. She assured him that even if they had to become friends anew, it would be alright...</p><p>"Uh- hello," Taranza says nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Uhm... what's your name?" he asks, worried he might say the wrong thing, but he didn't want to just talk to this person without at least knowing his name.</p><p>"Magolor. I'm Magolor," he responds with the cheery tone he entered the room with, though Taranza could hear a bit of sadness and worry in it. Still, he decides not to pry - he knows it's most likely because Taranza can't remember him. Magolor... that name sounds familiar, too. Were they close once? Like Susie and him? Or even closer?</p><p>"How are you feeling?" That question snaps Taranza out of his thoughts, and he could tell from Magolor's expression he noticed he was zoning out for a moment there. "I'm..." He considers for a moment to just say that he was fine, which was absolutely not the truth. Not with all the revelations and information he had to process over the last two days. How could one be alright, knowing that they lost the past few years of their life to amnesia? "I'm still processing everything... It's a lot to take in."</p><p>He looks at one of the flowers painted on the wall. It reminded him of Sectonia, for some reason... but he wasn't sure why.</p><p>Magolor nods. "I can guess..." he murmurs as he turns his gaze to where Taranza was looking.</p><p>"...You're thinking of her, right?" he asks, floating a bit closer. Taranza stares at the flower, tears beginning to well up in his eyes, and although he quickly tries wiping them away, Magolor had already noticed. "Hey, hey, it's alright. You don't need to stop yourself from crying because of me..." he says, slowly placing a hand on Taranza's shoulder. The spider begins sobbing, hiding his face in his hands. "I-I just... I j-just can't believe s-she's gone," he whimpers, unable to contain himself. "I know," Magolor mutters comfortingly, floating even closer.</p><p>Taranza looks up at him with a confused look through the tears. "You k-know?" he asks, the response Magolor gave not really making sense in his head. Magolor, in turn, nods. "You couldn't before you got your amnesia, either," he responds. "I mean... we all tried our best to help you move on, and you did your best too, but I don't think you ever truly did." Taranza looks to the ground, not sure what to do with that information. But he heard the honesty in Magolor's voice. Well, it made sense... that he wouldn't have moved on even after her death. They were best friends, and... and he loved her, more than anything. He still can't bear the thought that she was gone forever.</p><p>"...Is that why you went to the mirror...?" Magolor quietly mutters to himself, but Taranza heard it. Magolor quickly shakes his head. "You wouldn't know either way... you lost all your memories from that time." Taranza, still crying, gives Magolor a tight hug. "...N-No, I think you m-might be right," Taranza responds after they hugged each other in silence for a while. Magolor blinks in surprise, looking up at Taranza. "What do you mean?" he says with confusion. "I had this d-dream earlier, that didn't r-really seem like a dream... I remember I went to t-the mirror to find h-her... in the d-dream."</p><p>Magolor pats Taranza on the back softly. "That... might explain some things.. Did you tell Susie?" Taranza shakes his head. "Should I tell her?" Magolor asks, and Taranza nods. Magolor gives him a slight smile.</p><p>The two talk about a few other things to distract Taranza from the situation a bit, until Taranza asks a question that surprises Magolor. "Say... were we close? Like Susie and me?" Magolor blinks. "We were close friends, yes," Magolor responds, "we were almost like best friends... why do you ask?"</p><p>Taranza gives a small smile. "You... you seemed familiar from the moment I saw you... so I thought that I had to have known you well before I lost my memories," he answers, giggling a bit. "Good to know I was right,"</p><p>Magolor, in turn, smiles, turning almost sheepish.</p><p>They chat more for a little while, until Magolor says that he needs to go. It had since become fairly late, the night sky illuminated by the stars. Taranza was a bit sad Magolor had to go, but he understood.</p><p>"Will you come back soon?" he asks, fidgeting with his fingers. Magolor nods. "I'll come back soon, promise," he smiles, waving Taranza as he stood in the doorway. "See you soon, and sleep well,"</p><p>"You too," Taranza says, a smile on his face as the door closes.</p><p>It was still quite strange to think that he knew all of them well just a few days ago... but even if Taranza may never get his memory back, he knows he will become friends with them again, if he has to.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>9:03 pm<br/>
</em>
</p><p>Magolor: Oh shoot, I forgot that I should probably give an update, woops.</p><p>Magolor: Taranza was doing okay today. He's still wrapping his head around the situation. Hearing Sectonia was dead hit him hard, but that wasn't surprising. He also told me about the dream - I've already informed Susie of the situation, so MK &amp; DMK, she will probably discuss the remaining details with you later.</p><p>Magolor: He also mentioned that I seemed familiar to him from the first moment he saw me, so that's a bit of a relief. Seems like not everything is gone yet.</p><p>Kirby: That's really good news!!! （‐＾▽＾‐）</p><p>Kirby: About him kind of remembering you I mean! (^∇^) </p><p>Marx: shouldnt you be in bed kirby</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Magolor</strong> thats good news tho</p><p>Marx: makes me wonder if he'll recognize me when i visit ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠°)</p><p>Kirby: Daroach invited me to watch a meteor shower with him and his squad tonight!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ</p><p>Marx: excuse me there is a meteor shower tonight and nobody told me?!?!?</p><p>Daroach: i thought you knew lol</p><p>Susie: Marx didn't you write it down in your calendar last time? I'm pretty sure I told you there would be a meteor shower.</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Daroach @Susie</strong> i havent had a track of time ever since void termina if you think i know what day is today youre mistaken (ﾉ￣д￣)ﾉ </p><p>Daroach: well if you want to join you can just come to my place</p><p>Kirby: The Mage Sisters will also be there! (≡^∇^≡) </p><p>Marx: ok cool im omw</p><p>Marx: that reminds me, <strong>@Susie</strong> did you add francisca flamberge and zan partizanne to the group yet</p><p>Susie: Oh, good that you remind me. No, I didn't have their numbers. I'll ask them tomorrow so you guys can enjoy your meteor shower in peace.</p><p>Susie: Anyways, I'm gonna check if Taranza's sleeping already.</p><p>Magolor: Alright, bye Susie.</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Daroach</strong> Mind if I come as well?</p><p>Daroach: sure, the more the merrier. but you gotta bring your own snacks, i didnt plan that this many people would come ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p><p>Magolor: Alright, I'll be over in a bit.</p><p>Marx: taranza and sleeping this early??? thats a new one for me ( ͡❛  ͟ʖ ͡❛)</p><p>Meta Knight: Remember that this isn't the same Taranza you're familiar with. As Susie said, he might behave differently.</p><p>Marx: well yeah duh but its just odd, idk</p><p>Marx: anyways imma go now, bai</p><p>------</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>2:11 am</em>
</p><p>Marx: baba booey</p><p>Susie: Marx. It's 2 am. Go to bed.</p><p>Marx: bold of you to assume i sleep ever</p><p>Marx: besides why are you still awake ( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)</p><p>Daroach: good question 🤔</p><p>Susie: Working.</p><p>Marx: fair</p><p>Daroach: fair</p><p>Marx: daroach go to sleep you nearly feel asleep at the meteor shower lol</p><p>Daroach: no u</p><p>Marx: no u</p><p>Magolor: no both of u</p><p>Daroach: oh my stars eggboy is still awake</p><p>Daroach: stop overworking yourself and go to sleep mags</p><p>Magolor: no u</p><p>Marx: no u</p><p>Daroach: no u</p><p>Susie: No all of you</p><p>
  <em><strong>[Admin]</strong> Susie silenced Marx for 6 hours.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>[Admin]</strong> Susie silenced Daroach for 6 hours.</em>
</p><p>
  <em><strong>[Admin]</strong> Susie silenced Magolor for 6 hours.</em>
</p><p>Susie: Now go to bed</p><p><em>Marx reacted with</em> 😭</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 😭</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 😔</p><p><em>Marx reacted with</em> 🤣</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 🤐🚫🤣</p><p>Susie: Are you two seriously going to communicate with Emojis?</p><p><em>Marx reacted with</em> 👍</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 👍</p><p><em>Marx reacted with</em> 👆💢🤣</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 😂</p><p><em>Daroach reacted with</em> 💤👋</p><p><em>Marx reacted with</em> 👋</p><p>-----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>8:20 am</em>
</p><p>Marx: FREEDOM</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Anything for her</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taranza's other half promised him things that are impossible, in exchange for a small price.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy holidays, heres my gift and im gonna go ahead and not write for the next three days at least dsnghdsgsdjg<br/>again no proofread</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>There she was. Just... just a few meters ahead of him.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>His breath hitches as he sees her, once again, how he always remembered her. Like she had never changed. Everything was the same. It was all... it was all just a bad dream, right?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The other grinned. "See," he says, "I told you I would bring you to her. I keep my promises, unlike others in this realm."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>His words... sounded so genuine. For someone in this world, for sure... after everything it had done.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You can go to her, talk to her. But she can't leave this realm anymore. So she can't return to Dream Land with you. But maybe... I can work something out for you. For a small price."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He looks up at the dark spider. "I can bring her back. But in exchange, I want information for my master. Information that I can only get from your memories."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A shiver runs down his spine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"So what do you say, pal? Should I take your memories from all the way back to when she first gazed upon the mirror to now, in exchange for her life? Seems like a win-win to me, if I'm honest."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He knew he shouldn't trust any words that anyone in this mirrored world told him. But... they sounded so genuine.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You forget everything bad that has happened since she touched it, and get her back. And I get some information that will make my master very happy."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Who did he love more? His new friends, who have done everything in their power to help him... or her?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>As much as he wanted to have her back... he doesn't want to lose his friends. They mean so much to him... almost more than the queen did.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Don't worry, you don't need to answer. I already know what it is."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There is a short moment of pain. The illusion of her fades. He blacks out.</em>
</p><p>-----</p><p>Taranza shot up in his bed, visibly shaken, hands trembling as he begins to realize it was a dream...</p><p>Or maybe it wasn't. It didn't feel like one. It seemed... too real.</p><p>Panic was really starting to set in now. He was scared of whatever happened in that dream. He wants to get up - but then he notices something at the other end of the room, near the door, and he trembles as he gazes upon it.</p><p>A mirror.</p><p>After the last few horrifying nightmares about them, he didn't want to go anywhere near one. So he promptly decides to hide under his covers, hoping someone would come soon to him.</p><p>He waited a short while, which felt unbearably long for him. Then he remembers something:</p><p>The phone.</p><p>He reaches for it, catching another glimpse at the mirror, this time thinking he saw a figure in it, but he quickly retreats into his little blanket fort, too afraid to ponder it any longer.</p><p>His shaking hands manage to enter the passcode, before he selects the icon Susie showed him.</p><p>He clicks on Susie's name.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em> <strong>DMs Susie &lt;-&gt; Taranza</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>8:20 am<br/>
</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Ssusie?? Are u t here?</p><p>Susie: Yes. What's wrong?</p><p>Taranza: Ple ase come</p><p>----</p><p>Susie stopped texting back after that.</p><p>Taranza notices a lot of messages that had already been sent between the two of them while cowering in fear under his blanket still. They were all from before the 9th of January, so Taranza knows they had to have been sent before he lost his memories. Just another piece of proof that he really had lost his memories.</p><p>He heard the door open, and looked out from the blanket.</p><p>It was Susie.</p><p>She looks at him with worry in her expression. "What happened?" she asks, and Taranza looks down to the floor.</p><p>"I... I had another dream, Susie. I-I saw her, and then there was this person who looked like me... He promised he would bring her back in exchange for some memories of mine, I think..? But I remember I didn't want to in the dream. Then... then it ended."</p><p>Taranza seemed more so distressed than upset by the situation. Susie comes closer to his bed, but then Taranza points at the mirror in the corner. "T-There's nothing in there, right?"</p><p>Susie blinks, looking into the mirror, then back, shaking her head. "No. Did you see something in there?" Taranza quickly nods.</p><p>Susie's expression grew more worried, but she tried to hide it. "It's okay. We will figure this out."</p><p>Taranza looked up at her. "C-Can you stay for a bit? I.. I don't feel safe alone."</p><p>Susie nods and takes a seat in the chair that is next to the bed.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>9:13 am</em>
</p><p>Daroach: good morning to everyone except for marx who sent me exactly 100 messages saying rat bastard while i was asleep</p><p>Marx: ok you gotta admit it was kind of funny tho ¯\_(ツ)_/¯</p><p>Daroach: no</p><p>Marx: (ง'̀-'́)ง catch these hands</p><p>Daroach: YOU DONT EVEN HAVE HANDS DHFGDJFBDHF</p><p>Marx: HOW DARE (ಥ ͜ʖಥ)</p><p>Dedede: What in the goddamn</p><p>Daroach: thats what you get for sending me rat bastard 100 times marx</p><p>Dedede: You two really are some of the weirdest people I've ever met</p><p>Daroach: yes</p><p>Marx: yes</p><p>Marx: thank you i pride myself in being as weird as possible 乁(ᴗ ͜ʖ ᴗ)ㄏ</p><p>Magolor: And Marx sent me exactly 77 messages saying egg boy.</p><p>Kirby: good Morning!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ</p><p>Magolor: Morning Kirby!</p><p>Daroach: gm kirby!</p><p>Marx: good morning kirby!!</p><p>Dedede: Good Morning Kirby!</p><p>Susie: Good Morning everyone.</p><p>Kirby: <strong>@Susie</strong> Can I come today? o(^▽^)o</p><p>Susie: Sure thing.</p><p>Susie: Meta and Dark already know, but Taranza's had another nightmare or something about the mirror world. He's alright now, but I'm worried they're becoming more frequent - these dreams are seriously affecting his mental state, and he doesn't need more anxiety on top of everything he's already going through and processing right now.</p><p>Susie: <strong>@Meta Knight @Dark Meta Knight</strong> I want to meet the two of you in my lab later to discuss what we've figured out so far further.</p><p>Kirby: I hope Taranza will be alright... :;(∩´﹏`∩);: </p><p>Daroach: we just have to be there for him as best as we can. theres not much else we can do than that and trying to figure out if his amnesia has anything to do with his trip to the dimensional mirror, but meta dark and susie are working on that</p><p>Magolor: Yeah. The rest of us won't be quite as much help with that issue. Just keep doing what we've been doing so far.</p><p>Magolor: Oh yeah, don't forget to introduce yourself when you go see him. He won't remember your name. Y'know, amnesia and all.</p><p>Kirby: Ok! Thank you for reminding me!!</p><p>Kirby: I'm gonna go now! Bai! (ノ^∇^) </p><p>Marx: see ya kirb</p><p>Daroach: bye kirby!</p><p>Magolor: Bye!</p><p>----</p><p>Taranza stirs awake to the sound of vibrations on a table, sleepily blinking his eyes open. He sits up, looking for where the sound was coming from, noticing the phone on the table light up with every vibration.</p><p>He picks it up, and sees that aside from the messages in the Dream Friends chat, which he was still too afraid to text in, two other people had texted him – Susie, and a person named Kirby.</p><p>He first checks the messages from Susie.</p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>DMs Susie &lt;-&gt; Taranza</strong>
</p><p>
  <em>9:30 am</em>
</p><p>Susie: Hey, I'm letting you know that Kirby will visit you today. That's the little pink guy who was there when you first woke up.</p><p>Susie: He can't talk like the others, so he will probably text you instead.</p><p>Susie: Just wanted to give you a headsup so there's less confusion.</p><p>
  <em>10:20 am</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Oh. Okay, thank you</p><p> </p><p>Then he opens the other chat's messages.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <b>DMs Kirby &lt;-&gt; Taranza</b> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 10:11 am </em>
</p><p>Kirby: Hai! ( ´ ▽ ` ) ﾉ I'm Kirby! I just wanted to let you know that I will be coming by today!</p><p>Kirby: I have trouble talking like Susie and the others, so would it be ok if we text when I get there? （‐＾▽＾‐）</p><p>
  <em> 10:22 AM</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Uhm, sure thing! Nice to meet you, by the way.</p><p>Kirby: Okay, thank you! ( ＾▽＾ )</p><p>Kirby: I'm excited to see you already! I'll be there soon! (≧∇≦)/</p><p> </p><p>Taranza was surprised at how cheerful this Kirby sounded- it was rubbing off on him. He couldn't help but smile when he read the messages.</p><p>He sits up, then gets out of the bed, floating over to the window, looking outside. The sun was shining brightly, and it seemed like it was another wonderful day in Dream Land.</p><p>A bit later, the door opens, and Taranza turns to see Kirby and Susie together in the doorway. Susie smiled. "Have fun, you two," she says, before turning to leave, closing the door behind her.</p><p>"Hai!~" Kirby exclaims happily, waving his little arms at Taranza, who promptly waves back. "Hey there, little guy," he giggles, walking over to Kirby.</p><p>"Poyo!" the pink puffball beamed, running up to the spider, hugging him happily. Taranza laughs, returning the hug. Kirby seemed very happy to see him... and the way he hugged him felt familiar.</p><p>They let go after a while, and Kirby pulls out his phone, pointing at it while saying "Poyo!" a few times. Taranza nods, then picks up his own.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <b>DMs Kirby &lt;-&gt; Taranza</b> </em>
</p><p>
  <em> 10:41 am</em>
</p><p>Kirby: That was very nice o(〃＾▽＾〃)o</p><p>Taranza: You give great hugs, you know that?</p><p>Kirby: Thank youuuu（=´∇｀=）</p><p>Kirby: How are you? （*´▽｀*）</p><p>Taranza: Better than earlier this morning ^^;</p><p>Kirby: ∑(ﾟﾛﾟ〃) </p><p>Kirby: Was it because of the dream??</p><p>Taranza: Ye. Susie told you?</p><p>Kirby: Yeah, she told me when I came here ( ´△｀) </p><p>Kirby: But I'm happy you're feeling better!!! I don't want my friends to feel bad ((´д｀)) </p><p>Taranza: It's fine</p><p>Taranza: After all, you're all here for me, even if I don't really know you guys anymore!</p><p>Taranza: That's very nice of you &lt;3</p><p>Kirby: Of course!!! You're still our friend after all (　＾∇＾)</p><p>Kirby: I hope we can figure things out soon!! Susie is working really hard on it with Meta and Dark Meta (　´∀｀) </p><p>Taranza: Figuring out what?</p><p>Kirby: If the dimensional mirror had anything to do with u losing ur memories</p><p>Kirby: We found you outside the mirror before all of this happened, so they think it has something to do with that!!</p><p>Kirby: Susie thinks that maybe she can find a way to bring back your memories if she can figure out what happened!</p><p>Taranza: Is that why she asked me so many questions about my dreams???</p><p>Kirby: Maybe? (^～^;)ゞ</p><p>Kirby: I'm not sure!! It's very complicated stuff I don't understand well!</p><p>Taranza: Mhm</p><p>Taranza: Say, how do you do those symbols? They're not regular emoticons</p><p>Kirby: Oh!! I have a special program Susie installed on my phone so I could use them without having to copy paste them (*^▽^*)</p><p>Taranza: Oh, cool!!</p><p> </p><p>They continued chatting on like this for a while, sometimes playing around, Taranza not really noticing the time fly by. At least not until Susie checked in and told them how late it was already.</p><p>Unfortunately Kirby had to go then, but he said they could text again the next day - Taranza was delighted by that, and also kind of excited?</p><p>Kirby waved as he was leaving, giving one last "Poyo!". Taranza waved back and watched as the door closed, before going back to bed, surprisingly tired - then again, Kirby was quite the bundle of energy. He yawned, slowly pulling the blanket over himself, reaching over to turn off the light. Susie would wake him if she needed anything, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>9:34 pm</em>
</p><p>Susie: Since Kirby's probably already sleeping I'm posting a quick update.</p><p>Susie: Kirby and Taranza spent basically the whole day together. Kirby mentioned they played some games, and Taranza seemed a lot happier and calmer than he did this morning. All in all, looks like everything's fine.</p><p>Marx: they played games?? d'aw thats kinda cute</p><p>Daroach: yeah</p><p>Daroach: speaking of games <strong>@Marx</strong> wanna play some minecraft</p><p>Marx: only if im allowed to cause a massive tnt explosion to crash the server at the end again</p><p>Daroach: yeah sure whatevs</p><p>Daroach: imma send you the server ip in dms</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Susie</strong> I'm glad to hear he's doing better.</p><p>Magolor:<strong> @Daroach @Marx</strong> Yo, can I join you guys?</p><p>Daroach: sure thing eggboy</p><p>Marx: welcome to the server eggboy</p><p>Marx: oh susie you forgot to add the sisters again lol</p><p>Daroach: oh shit she did</p><p>Daroach: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: did she fall asleep?????</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong></p><p>Susie: What.</p><p>Marx: the mage sisters</p><p>Daroach: you wanted to add them</p><p>Susie: Oh.</p><p>Susie: One sec.</p><p>
  <em><strong>[Admin]</strong> Susie added Francisca, Flamberge and Zan Partizanne to Dream Friends 4ever group chat.</em>
</p><p>Susie: Thanks for the reminder Marx but don't ping me 9 times next time.</p><p>Susie: Welcome you three.</p><p>Flamberge: Bonjam!!!</p><p>Daroach: what up</p><p>Flamberge: Fran and Zan are already asleep</p><p>Marx: yo</p><p>Daroach: do you have minecraft??? you can join marx mags and i if you do</p><p>Flamberge: Jes</p><p>Flamberge: Lemme just log in</p><p>Flamberge: What's the server IP??</p><p>Magolor: Hold on, I'll send it to you.</p><p>Magolor: Marx and Daroach are busy blowing up a mine.</p><p>Flamberge: Jamanke</p><p>Susie: Well, I'm going offline. Have fun you four.</p><p>Marx: aw, ure not gonna join us in destroying the world??? ( ͡❛ ︵ ͡❛)</p><p>Marx: and she's offline</p><p>Daroach: rip lol</p><p>Daroach: imma make a voice chat for us 1 sec</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Music Box</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taranza asks for a memory of the past, and receives one of the present.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>for those who want to hear what the music boxes sound like, this is what the first one (the one for sectonia) sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6TCU0p-jK0<br/>and this is the second one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt0CJvCo_rs<br/>also check out more music box covers by them!! they're all very good and you definitely wont regret it</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>A soft tune played as the two sat together under a cherry tree, its leaves rustling in the wind. The music box played a calming melody, beautiful and quiet. If flowers could sing, this is what he would think they sound like.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's... it's gorgeous," she replies, a smile forming on her lips.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He blushes, looking away. "T-Thank you," he says sheepishly.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"You made this yourself?" she asks, putting her hand on his.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Yes... I wrote the melody and crafted the music box for it," "You know how to make music boxes?!" "Yeah, it started as a tryout, but it, uh, got a bit out of hand..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"That's so cool," she exclaims excitedly, grinning. He beamed at how excited she seemed with his little gift, just happy to make her happy.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It's for you," he responds, "I wanted to make something for you, in case we can't see each other as often anymore because of your new duties, something you can take everywhere with you and listen to if you feel stressed..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>She tears up a bit, and he worries that he might've said the wrong thing - but then she hugs him tight, making his heart jump with joy. "That's... that's so sweet of you," she whispers, clearly trying to contain her cries of happiness.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I promise I'll come by whenever I can," she says, small droplets rolling down her cheeks, "maybe you can even come visit me,"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>He hugged her back. "That would be wonderful," he says, smiling. "Maybe I'll have made more music boxes by then,"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thank you so, so much. You're the bestest friend someone can wish for."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>----</em>
</p><p>Taranza sits by the window, watching the cherry trees rustling in the soft breeze, leaves falling from them.</p><p>The dream was bittersweet, knowing what he does now... but he keeps her in fond memory. The Sectonia he didn't know anymore doesn't matter to him - he only cares about who she was before she became corrupted by something dark - her true self.</p><p>The door opens softly and quietly, Susie carefully peeking in until she sees Taranza is already awake and sitting by the window, looking outside. She walks up to him, her gaze also turning to the outside world.</p><p>"I'm surprised you're awake already," she says, "I didn't expect you to be up so early after yesterday. You seemed quite tired,"</p><p>Taranza smiles. "I had a very good rest... and a very nice dream of an old memory."</p><p>Susie blinks, seeming surprised. "An old memory?"</p><p>He nods. "From before she was corrupted. Even before she became Queen." He sighs quietly, looking down. "The trees out there remind me of her..."</p><p>The pink-haired girl places a hand on his shoulder. "I can see why," she replies, looking up at the dreamstalk that towered into the clouds in the distance.</p><p>"I wish I could listen to it right now.." Taranza mumbles, and Susie's stare turns to him, confusion visible on her face.</p><p>"Listen to what?"</p><p>Taranza gazes up at her. "I- I often made music boxes when I was younger... there is one I made specifically for her. It had a very soothing melody," he explains, "but I don't know where they are."</p><p>Susie looks at him thoughtfully for a moment, before getting an idea. "Where would you have kept them?"</p><p>Taranza blinks. "The ones I made for myself I put in a special box... it was one with floral patterns on it. If I had the music box after her... death, it would probably be in there." He was a bit confused by Susie's question, but decides not to investigate further.</p><p>"Okay. I'll see what I can do," she smiles. "Do you want to eat something?"</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>8:41 am</em>
</p><p>Zan Partizanne: Bonjam. It appears Francisca, Flamberge and I missed quite a lot, janno?</p><p>Marx: yeah pretty much</p><p>Francisca: Ah, I just saw...</p><p>Francisca: How is he doing?</p><p>Marx: idk</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Susie</strong> how is taranza doing</p><p>Daroach: any updates yet??</p><p>Francisca: Hold on, she is typing.</p><p>Susie: <strong>@here</strong> He's doing just fine. He told me he had a nice dream and seemed quite relaxed and happy when I visited this morning.</p><p>Francisca: That is good to hear.</p><p>Daroach: im glad hes doing fine</p><p>Susie: <strong>@Magolor</strong> Since you're online right now, I need you to look for something for me. Taranza moved some of his stuff to your place when he prepared to leave Floralia to move to Dream Land, right? Can you look for a box with floral patterns?</p><p>Magolor: Oh, uh, sure.</p><p>
  <em>Magolor posted a picture [box.png]</em>
</p><p>Magolor: This is the only one I could find. Is this what you're looking for?</p><p>Susie: Yep. Taranza wants it. Can you bring it over?</p><p>Magolor: Sure thing. Does anybody else want to visit today? Otherwise I'd like to visit.</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Marx @Daroach</strong> Didn't one of you two want to visit today? Y'know, like we talked about yesterday night.</p><p>Marx: nah go ahead, i can always go later</p><p>Daroach: i have time tomorrow too. if you wanna visit go for it</p><p>Magolor: Thank you, both of you.</p><p>Magolor: <strong>@Susie</strong> I'll be coming over in a few minutes.</p><p>Daroach: yknow now im curious, whats in the box?</p><p>Kirby: Good morning everyone!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ</p><p>Kirby: <strong>@Daroach</strong> Music boxes I think! （‐＾▽＾‐）Taranza showed me some!!</p><p>Kirby: Before all this happened I mean ( ；´Д｀) </p><p>Marx: gm kirby!</p><p>Daroach: good morning</p><p>Francisca: Bonjam.</p><p>Magolor: Morning Kirby!</p><p>Daroach: music boxes?? that's kinda cute ngl</p><p>Susie: Good morning, Kirby.</p><p>Susie: Yes, at least if what Taranza said is right. He wanted them.</p><p>Magolor: I'm on my way now. Should I just go straight to Taranza's room, Susie?</p><p>Susie: Yeah sure, I'll meet you there.</p><p>Marx: hold on i have a pic for mags</p><p>
  <em>Marx uploaded [so long gay boy.png]</em>
</p><p>Susie: Marx.</p><p>Daroach: HSBAHXASKFDNCBHSFKF</p><p>Francisca: What??</p><p>Daroach: the joke is that mags likes our spider friend over there</p><p>Marx: IT WAS FUNNY SUSIE (ಥ ͜ʖಥ)</p><p>Francisca: Oh. Oh...</p><p>Susie: Well. You're not wrong.</p><p>Marx: wait francisca you didnt know??</p><p>Francisca: Janno???</p><p>Daroach: GHFKGHFDJFGHFJ</p><p>Daroach: even flamberge knew</p><p>Daroach: have you never heard mags talk about him???? because if thats not a dead giveaway then i dont know</p><p>
  <em>Magolor posted [Marx pride hat.png]</em>
</p><p>Magolor: What was that Marx?</p><p>Daroach: oH MY STARS I DIDNT KNOW MARX HAS A PRIDE HAT</p><p>
  <em>Marx posted [gay silence.png]</em>
</p><p>Daroach: no joke tho that hat looks sick</p><p>Daroach: i love how its just like. your regular hat. but with pride flag colors on each side instead. cool shit dude</p><p>Magolor: Didn't you wear a pride cloak that day Daroach?</p><p>Daroach: yeha but no one took a picture 😔</p><p>Marx: yeha</p><p>Susie: yeha</p><p>Bandana: yeha</p><p>Dedede: yeha</p><p>Daroach: SHUT</p><p>Dedede: Get his ass</p><p>Susie: Imagine when Taranza gets around to reading this chat.</p><p>Marx: MAGOLOR OUR SECRET</p><p>Magolor: Oh no.</p><p>Daroach: what secret</p><p>Daroach: anyone who's ever seen either of you talk about taranza knows</p><p>Marx:( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)</p><p>Marx: you didnt need to murder us</p><p>Bandana: hgfdngvfdhgdsj</p><p>Bandana: to be fair daroach youre not subtle either</p><p>Daroach: SUBTLE ABOUT WHAT??</p><p>Marx: dark meta knight</p><p>Bandana: dark meta knight</p><p>Dedede: Dark Meta Knight</p><p>Meta Knight: Dark Meta Knight</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: Me</p><p>Daroach: ...</p><p>Daroach: i have been murdered by everyone INCLUDING my own boyfriend 😔</p><p>Magolor: RIP Daroach</p><p>Magolor: Well, I'm gonna go offline now, bye.</p><p>----</p><p>Magolor waited by the door for Susie, holding the box that had flowers painted upon it close to himself.</p><p>Taranza always made sure it was stored away safely while aboard the Lor, so Magolor knew these music boxes were incredibly important to him...</p><p>He told them that he made these himself, from the melody all the way to the boxes themselves. Marx and Magolor were so impressed by that, considering how beautiful all of them sounded, at least the ones they got to listen to.</p><p>He looks up as he sees Susie come towards him, a small smile creeping up on his face. He was quite excited to see Taranza again so soon.</p><p>"Hey there Susie," Magolor says casually, unable to wave her as he was holding the box. "Hey Mags," she replies as she approaches the door.</p><p>----</p><p>Taranza turns his head as he hears the door open, surprised to see Susie and Magolor.</p><p>It takes him a moment to notice that Magolor was holding a box, and another to notice the pattern upon it. He instantly begins grinning.</p><p>"You found it," he says happily, getting up from his spot by the window. "Told you he'd find it," Susie responds, doing an OK sign with her fingers. "Anyways, I need to get back to work. Have fun, you two," With that, Susie closes the door behind her and leaves the room.</p><p>"Hey Tazzy," Magolor smiles, setting down the box on the bed. "I heard you had a nice dream?"</p><p>Taranza is for just a split second taken aback by the nickname, not used to someone else using it. "Hey Magolor." he grins, nodding. "Yeah. Though.. it was kind of bittersweet, I suppose." He sits down on the bed, patting the spot next to him for Magolor to sit down on, who obliges. Taranza takes the box into his hands carefully. "Thank you so much,"</p><p>Magolor giggles. "No problem," he replies. "How are you feeling?"</p><p>Taranza looks a bit thoughtful. "Better than when you were here last time... but it's still a lot to wrap my head around. I- I really hope Susie can figure out a way to help me get my memories back... I feel really bad not being able to really remember any of you," he admits, looking away. "Like... you seemed familiar, but I didn't know you. It's weird that we were apparently like best friends once, and I can't remember any of it... As if someone snapped their fingers and it was all just gone."</p><p>Magolor pats Taranza's back. "It's alright.. We'll figure something out." He looks down at the box, seeing the spider's hands tremble a bit on it. Magolor gives Taranza a comforting smile. "You don't have to open it while I'm here if you don't feel ready for that."</p><p>Taranza's face lights up a tiny bit, him looking away sheepishly. "It's not that... I just don't know if I'm ready to listen to that song again, knowing what I do now... I want to hear it, but I..." He hiccups just a tiny bit, small droplets already forming at the corners of his eyes again.</p><p>Magolor puts his hand on Taranza's shoulder. "It's okay, take all the time you need. And if you do need a shoulder to cry on.. I'm here for you."</p><p>Taranza bites back a sob. "T-Thank you," he says quietly, before taking a deep breath, opening the box. He searches it for the music box, quickly finding it, holding the object that had a flower quite similar to the dreamstalk's blossoms painted onto it.</p><p>He puts the carton with all the other music boxes to the side, slowly opening it, winding it up.</p><p>A soothing melody fills the room, calm, beautiful and quiet. He's instantly reminded of her.</p><p>It doesn't take long for him to break out into quiet sobs, Magolor beginning to rub his back comfortingly. Taranza, in turn, hugs Magolor tight, crying into his chest, but the halcandran didn't mind, instead comfortingly stroking the spider's hair as Taranza sobbed his sorrow out.</p><p>To know that he would never be able to see her again... it hurt, so, so much. Taranza could barely bare the thought. He didn't know how he should cope with it, how he could ever move on, what to do. Susie had told him about how he was really beginning to move on from Sectonia's death, before he lost his memories at least. His newfound friends had helped him so much with coping, helping him trying to move on... and it was all for naught, because of something as simple as amnesia - gone within the snap of someone's fingers. All their efforts went to waste, and Taranza was back at square one.</p><p>He continues crying as the haunting melody plays again and again, unable to stop. He leaned closer towards Magolor as he cries harder, while Magolor tries his best to comfort his friend.</p><p>After some time, Taranza stops crying. The music box stops, but Taranza does not let go of Magolor, both out of fear of losing his grip on reality if he did, as the embrace was the only thing keeping him connected to it at this point, as well as simply wanting to remain close to his refound friend, finding the embrace warm and comforting.</p><p>The two sit together in silence like this for a while, until Taranza eventually pulls away from the embrace, looking away nervously again.</p><p>"Thank you..." he whispers, "for... for staying with me through all of that..."</p><p>Magolor gives a small smile. "You're welcome," he says quietly, "I know you would've done the same for me."</p><p>Taranza nods, a somewhat happy expression on his face. "I-I'm sorry for hanging on as long as I did... I thought I was going to lose my grip on reality there if I let go..."</p><p>Magolor pats Taranza on the head softly. "It's okay," he says, pulling the spider in for another quick hug. "I'm just happy you trust me enough for you to show yourself like this in front of me, you know?"</p><p>Taranza gives another weak nod.</p><p>"I was worried you might be afraid of me, or push me away... but I'm glad that you still trust me so much, despite barely knowing me anymore."</p><p>Taranza smiles nervously. "Well, we're still friends, aren't we? Even if...  even if I don't remember our friendship of the past."</p><p>Magolor grins back. "Yeah," he says happily, "you're right."</p><p>Taranza looks back at the box with the other music boxes, before noticing one he didn't recognize. Could it be something he made during the time that he doesn't remember anymore?</p><p>He reaches for it, curious to hear. Magolor blinks, seeming confused for a moment, before giving a small smile, recognizing the music box.</p><p>Taranza opens it, and winds it up. A comforting melody plays, one that made him feel safe and secure.</p><p>He doesn't remember writing the melody or making the music box.</p><p>But a small memory does come back to him...</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em>"What's that one?" Marx asks, excited to hear more of Taranza's music boxes.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Taranza looks away sheepishly. "I made this one recently... it's probably not as good as the old ones."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I still wanna hear it," Magolor says, smiling. "If you don't mind that of course."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The spider rubs the back of his head nervously, not exactly keen on embarassing himself in front of his two best friends, the people he probably cared about the most on Popstar. But he didn't want to refuse their request either. "Well, if you really wanna hear it..." he mumbles, opening the music box, winding it up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A soft, comforting melody plays. It makes him feel safe. The tone was nearly that of a lullaby... it was something he could fall asleep to. Maybe that is why it made him feel so secure... and probably also why he stopped at nothing to create this music box after finishing the melody, spending many nights falling asleep in the middle of his work, often waking to that comforting sound.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Marx and Magolor seemed completely entranced by it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Taranza... it's beautiful," Magolor murmurs.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It sounds like a lullaby..." Marx comments, and Taranza gives a small nod. "I.. I wanted it to sound like one. I tried to write something that could help me sleep..."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Magolor gives a small smile. "You managed to do that for sure," he says, "I think I could fall asleep to that sound for the rest of my life."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Taranza blushes slightly, somewhat taken aback by this kind statement.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"It actually makes me sleepy... and that's something that doesn't happen often," Marx responds, really seeming kind of tired for a change.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"The melody is so simple and soft... it makes me happy, and I don't even know why," Magolor admits, giggling a bit.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Thank you, both of you," Taranza smiles, letting the music play for a bit more. "That means a lot to me."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I hope you continue making melodies and music boxes. You're really good at it," Marx smiles.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Taranza couldn't help but smile back.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>----</em>
</p><p>He looks up to Magolor.</p><p>"Say... did we ever listen to this one? Together?"</p><p>Magolor blinks. "Yes, we did - together with Marx, aboard the Lor... it was some time while you were moving your stuff and we all had a sleepover there." He smiles. "You even managed to make Marx sleep for a change with that melody. It was the first time any of us had found a lullaby-like melody that could make him tired..."</p><p>Taranza giggles. "I- I remember that. He told me to continue making melodies and music boxes, right?"</p><p>Magolor looks at him with surprise and excitement. "Yes! You remember it?!"</p><p>Taranza seems confused for a moment, unsure why Magolor was so excited about this... before he realized.</p><p>"I-I do! We were listening to the other music boxes before that, right?!"</p><p>Magolor nods quickly, seeming ready to bounce up and down at any moment. "You remembered something you had forgotten about before!! I- I will need to tell Susie about that!!!" he exclaims with joy. Taranza becomes equally as excited with the realization.</p><p>It worked. Susie said that doing certain things, or seeing or hearing them, might help him remember some things. And it worked!</p><p>Maybe all hope wasn't lost yet.</p><p>The two celebrate the moment listening to the wonderful lullaby that the music box played.</p><p>They barely noticed that it had since gotten dark outside. Magolor soon realized that he would need to return home - but he felt better knowing that it wasn't over yet, and that perhaps the damage was reversible after all.</p><p>Magolor and Taranza soon said their goodbyes, leaving Taranza with his thoughts. <em><strong>Happy </strong></em>thoughts.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>9:02 pm</em>
</p><p>Magolor: Update time! It's very good news, so I'll be tagging <strong>@everyone</strong>. Taranza was quite happy today! We had a lot of fun, and he kept the carton with the music boxes, so if you start hearing music boxes daily @Susie don't blame me. However, here comes the best thing - he remembered something recent! It seems like his memory might still come back to him, or that at the very least whatever damage was done is reversible.</p><p>Daroach: thats!! fantastic news!!</p><p>Marx: YEEHAW</p><p>Gooey: !!!!!</p><p>Flamberge: Thats epic!!!</p><p>Kirby: :OOOO</p><p>Kirby: I'm so happy to hear that!!! (≡^∇^≡)</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: That's very good news.</p><p>Dedede: That's good to hear!</p><p>Susie: Yes, it's quite good news indeed. Of course, that still doesn't answer the question of how he lost his memories in the first place, but at least we know they can come back. Hopefully Meta, Dark and I can figure things out soon.</p><p>Magolor: Oh yeah, that reminds me - have you guys made any progress so far?</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: I'm searching for Dark Taranza right now. If his mirror counterpart had anything to do with it, it makes sense I go question the guy.</p><p>Susie: Meta and I are busy trying to retrace Taranza's steps, both in Dream Land and the mirror world. Once we figure out what happened in there, things will become a lot clearer on what to do next.</p><p>Susie: Speaking of which, I have a request for everyone.</p><p>Susie: <strong>@everyone</strong> If there is anything in particular you can do/have that might help Taranza get back more of his memories, contact me. I was doubtful that it would actually help for a while, but seeing as just listening to one of the music boxes helped him remember something today, it's probably good to gather up some things and ideas on how we can help him get back more of them.</p><p>Marx: gotcha ( ͡❛ ᵜ ͡❛)</p><p>Daroach: sure thing! ill see what i can do 😊</p><p>Kirby: I'll see if there's anything I can find! (　´∀｀) </p><p>Magolor: I'll look if I can find anything else of his that might help out.</p><p>Dedede: I don't think Bandana or I have anything that can help, but I'll look regardless.</p><p>Flamberge: He hasn't known us that long, I'm not sure if there's anything we can do?</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: I mean, you guys can always visit him. That might help.</p><p>Flamberge: Jes, you're right! Jamanke</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: No problem.</p><p>
  <em>Marx posted  [blinkingdisbelief.gif]</em>
</p><p>Marx: dark?? being nice to someone who isnt his boyfriend??? who is this imposter ( ͠° ͟ʖ ͠°)</p><p>
  <em>Several people are typing...</em>
</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>0:57 am</em>
</p><p>Marx: insomniac check</p><p>Magolor: Yup.</p><p>Daroach: present</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: Here.</p><p>Susie: Working but here.</p><p>Flamberge: yeehaw</p><p>Meta Knight: Why are you all still awake??</p><p>Marx: Local Noddy Refuses To Sleep Ever</p><p>Daroach: insomnia</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: Insomnia. Also working.</p><p>Flamberge: Fucked up my sleeping schedule, also insomnia kinda woops</p><p>Magolor: Working</p><p>Susie: Working</p><p>Marx: better question: why are YOU still awake</p><p>
  <em>Marx sent [thonk.gif]</em>
</p><p>Meta Knight: Work.</p><p>Marx: ok fair</p><p>Marx: anyways do any of the non-working night owls want to play something</p><p>Daroach: sure</p><p>Flamberge: jes</p><p>Marx: ok cool im gonna send you both something in DMs</p><p>Daroach: what is this</p><p>Marx: one second</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Magolor</strong> we might need a third player can you stop overworking yourself for one day and join us</p><p>Magolor: ...</p><p>Magolor: Sure, whatever. I'm having a good day anyways and this code is frustrating me to no end.</p><p>Marx: ok cool</p><p>Marx: so. the codes i sent you three. activation codes.</p><p>Marx: i need friends for the game so i have just been saving them until i find enough insomniacs to play with me ( ͡❛ ‿っ ͡❛) luckily flamberge has now joined the group chat so now we have enough insomniacs that arent complete workaholics</p><p>Marx: alright so activate the game on ur accounts</p><p>Daroach: marx what is this</p><p>Flamberge: Magicka?????</p><p>Marx: trust me it will be funny</p><p>Marx: ok download the game and then hop in ill invite you guys</p><p>Magolor: Ok</p><p>Daroach: *hacker voice* im in</p><p>
  <em>Flamberge sent [what in the goddamn.png]</em>
</p><p>Flamberge: what is the language set to???? theyre speaking gibberish</p><p>Marx: thats the point lmao</p><p>Daroach: THEYRE SUPPOSED TO SPEAK LIKE THAT????</p><p>Daroach: VLAD IS NULL VAMPIR SBDHSXASUDHSASJCSNFHF WHAT IN THE GODDAMN DOES THAT MEAN???????????????????</p><p>Magolor: It means hes not a vampire, clearly</p><p>Magolor: SURPRISE IS SURRENDER HSDABDFHSCHCXJSNFHSF</p><p>Daroach: OH MY STARS IVE NEVER SEEN MAGOLOR KEYSMASH THIS IS NEW</p><p>Marx: MAGOLOR YOU CAN KEYSMASH?????? I NEVER KNEW</p><p>Magolor: OF COURSE I CAN????</p><p>Magolor: WHAT SHOULD BE STOPPING ME FROM THAT</p><p>Daroach: i just always thought you didnt know how</p><p>Marx: same lol  (° ͜ʖ°)</p><p>Marx: In all the years ive known you you have never once keysmashed</p><p>Magolor: There's a time for everything. And this game is the time for me to keysmash</p><p>Magolor: MARX YOU PIECE OF HSIT STO P KILLING ME</p><p>Daroach: hsit</p><p>Marx: hsit</p><p>Flamberge: hsit</p><p>Susie: hsit</p><p>Meta Knight: hsit</p><p>Magolor: SHUT UP</p><p>Susie: Get his ass</p><p>Daroach: MARXHDWSFBSHCSFH</p><p>Marx: WHAT</p><p>Daroach: you pushed me off the edge effectively killing us both</p><p>Magolor: Flamberge I know what you want to do. Do not</p><p>Magolor: FLAMBERGE</p><p>Flamberge: There can be only one.</p><p>Susie: What the hell are you guys doing anyways?</p><p>Marx: we're playing magicka</p><p>Marx: i tried killing everyone</p><p>Marx: then i drowned</p><p>Marx: then Flamberge killed magolor</p><p>Marx: and now she is soloing the boss lol</p><p>Flamberge: SHUT I NEED TO CONCENTRATE</p><p>Daroach: yes ma'am</p><p>Marx: no</p><p>Marx: <strong>@Flamberge</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Flamberge</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Flamberge</strong></p><p>Marx: <strong>@Flamberge</strong></p><p>Susie: I see Daroach drank his respecting Flamberge juice while Marx did not</p><p>Flamberge: Marx I will kill you.</p><p>Marx: ( ͡° ͜つ ͡°)╭∩╮</p><p>Marx: did she go afk</p><p>Magolor: Flamberge? You here?</p><p>Marx: what is that sound.</p><p>Marx: FLAMBEGGFHDJCHSDNFJFDKDSHD</p><p>Daroach: i think Flamberge made her threat a reality and Marx is being murdered as we speak</p><p>Magolor: TBF he deserved it</p><p>Daroach: true 🙃</p><p>Flamberge: I'm back</p><p>Magolor: Is Marx alive?????</p><p>Flamberge: Yes</p><p>Marx: Please Do Not Try To Impale Me On Your Sword Again</p><p>Daroach: HJSDBSHCSNFHSKFH</p><p>Magolor: Can we continue withuot murdering each other this time?</p><p>Marx: withuot</p><p>Magolor: Marx do you want me to come over and make sure you die this time?</p><p>Marx: please ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)</p><p>Daroach: what did i come back to</p><p>Flamberge: marx flirting???? apparently???</p><p>Magolor: Marx are you drunk???????????????????????</p><p>Marx: no</p><p>Marx: sleep deprived :^)</p><p>Daroach: go to sleep</p><p>
  <em>Marx is quoting 1 message from Dream Friends 4ever group chat:</em>
</p><p>
  <strong>-&gt; Marx: Local Noddy Refuses To Sleep Ever</strong>
</p><p>Marx: so no</p><p>
  <em>Daroach, Flamberge and Susie are typing...</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>DMs Magolor &lt;-&gt; Taranza</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>1:15 AM</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Hey?</p><p>Magolor: Hey</p><p>Magolor: You're still awake???</p><p>Taranza: Mhm. Just woke up and can't fall back asleep :(</p><p>Taranza: Do you have any tips???? For falling back asleep I mean</p><p>Taranza: I've tried what I know but it hasn't helped :(</p><p>Magolor: Uhm, hm... lets see</p><p>Magolor: Oh, have you tried warm milk yet? It works wonders for me.</p><p>Taranza: No, but I don't wanna wake Susie to ask for one ;;</p><p>Magolor: Oh, she's still awake! I wrote with her just a minute or so ago.</p><p>Taranza: Oh</p><p>Taranza: This late?</p><p>Magolor: She only needs to sleep very rarely.</p><p>Taranza: Oh</p><p>Taranza: I didn't know that</p><p>Taranza: So I can just text her?</p><p>Magolor: Yes</p><p>Taranza: Okay, thank you Magolor</p><p>Taranza: I'll see if it helps...</p><p>Magolor: Oh wait!</p><p>Magolor: Before you go</p><p>Taranza: ?</p><p>Magolor: Can you record the melody of the music box we listened to earlier? The one you got a memory from</p><p>Taranza: Uhm, okay</p><p>Taranza: Can I ask why?</p><p>Magolor: Marx is... having trouble sleeping despite it being so late and him being tired</p><p>Magolor: It helped before, you know like he said back then? So maybe that will help</p><p>Taranza: Oh he's having trouble sleeping too??? Okay</p><p>Taranza: Give me a moment</p><p>Magolor: Take your time!!</p><p>
  <em>Taranza uploaded [audio.mp3]</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Here you go</p><p>Taranza: I hope it's alright</p><p>Magolor: It sounds great! Thank you</p><p>Magolor: Do you mind if I post it in the public chat? Where Kirby and the others are in as well</p><p>Taranza: I don't think so</p><p>Taranza: Go ahead if you want to put it there</p><p>Magolor: Okay! Thank you and sleep well 💙💙💙</p><p>Taranza: You too when you go to bed</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>1:32 am</em>
</p><p>Marx: ok so theres this guy named vlad, who is DEFINITELY NOT a vampire, as he himself states</p><p>Daroach: totally not a vampire mhm</p><p>Marx: and he makes you go out and save the world from an evil wizard cuz hes your teacher</p><p>Susie: Yes but that doesn't quite explain why Flamberge is raging.</p><p>Susie: Hold on, Taranza is texting me.</p><p>Marx: oh she is pissed because He Is Very Hard</p><p>Marx: she keeps falling off the map lol</p><p>Flamberge: ITSNOT FUNNYYY</p><p>Flamberge: GOD FUCKING JAMIT</p><p>Marx: oh my stars are we learning jambadran swears tonight????</p><p>Daroach: new lore accquired</p><p>Marx: also taranza is still awake?????</p><p>Magolor: I'm back</p><p>Marx: and here i thought you were either coming to mrder me or you fell asleep</p><p>Magolor: No, and no I didn't fall asleep yet, but I'd like to go to sleep.</p><p>Magolor: Taranza asked me for tips on falling back asleep since nothing he tried worked.</p><p>Daroach: what did you tell him????</p><p>Magolor: Warm Milk</p><p>Marx: i knew it catboy</p><p>Magolor: SHUT</p><p>Daroach: to be fair warm milk is a great way to go to sleep</p><p>Daroach: but also catboy is a very funny insult to use for him</p><p>Magolor:<strong> @Marx</strong> I have something for you.</p><p>Daroach: oh, and the rest of the chat gets to see it too???</p><p>
  <em>Magolor uploaded [audio.mp3]</em>
</p><p>Marx: w</p><p>Marx: noooooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOO</p><p>Marx: y u do dis 2 me</p><p>Daroach: yo</p><p>Daroach: is that one of the music boxes??????????</p><p>Daroach: thats soothing as hell</p><p>Daroach: its like a lullaby</p><p>Magolor: Ye</p><p>Magolor: It helps Marx become tired and go sleep :)</p><p>Magolor: And he needs sleep</p><p>Marx: i do not catboy</p><p>Magolor: Don't lie to me I've seen the circles under your eyes</p><p>Marx: ( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)</p><p>Marx: fine ill go to sleep</p><p>Marx: ...thanks for sending that tho</p><p>Marx: i missed hearing it &lt;/3</p><p>Daroach: i didnt know you had a soft spot for anything but taranza</p><p>Marx: shut your muoth and go to sleep ratboy</p><p>Daroach: mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm</p><p>Daroach: MMMMMMMMMMM</p><p>Daroach: mkay</p><p>Magolor: Did Flamberge die???</p><p>Flamberge: No i just nearly fell asleep woops</p><p>Flamberge: Hyness is making me go to bed :(</p><p>Flamberge: Jaitty!!</p><p>Magolor: Just like old times huh</p><p>Marx: ???</p><p>Magolor: You're missing the lore to that</p><p>Marx: cant believe im missing lore</p><p>Marx: whatever ill go to bed now, gn</p><p>Magolor: I'm also heading off, goodnight.</p><p>Daroach: same, gn all</p><p>Susie: Good night you four.</p><p>Meta Knight: And thus the night owl chat becomes work related only</p><p>Dedede: Or so you thought :)</p><p>Susie: You're awake?????</p><p>Dedede: Lurking as always.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Winter Wonderland</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Winter has arrived in Dream Land.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here I bring into play my personal headcanon that Taranza had never seen snow until the events of Triple Deluxe because he never spent time in the lower parts of Floralia and thus never experienced snowfall</p><p>some notes for everyone and myself on words the three mage-sisters use that i thought up:<br/>-jaitte - you're welcome, jam + bitte (german word for youre welcome)</p><p>also, we're approaching the end game now :] only 3 chapters to go!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taranza slowly gets up, making his bed neatly, before floating over to the window.</p><p>He stares outside in disbelief.</p><p>What was that? Dream Land was covered in white. Particles were flying through the air, falling from the clouds. He's never seen something like this before!</p><p>He goes over to the table, picking up his phone.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> <strong>DMs Susie &lt;-&gt; Taranza</strong> </em>
</p><p>
  <em>9:45 am</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Susie. What happened outside?? What is this white stuff???</p><p>Susie: ??</p><p>Susie: Oh.</p><p>Susie: That's snow.</p><p>Taranza: Snow????</p><p>Susie: It's basically frozen water drops that fall from the sky.</p><p>Susie: Oh, that's right. Mags told me you never saw snow before you came to Dream Land the first time.</p><p>Taranza: Frozen water???</p><p>Susie: Yep. If you want you can go outside, but it might be cold. Or at least colder than it had been the last few days.</p><p>Taranza: Oh</p><p>Taranza: Okay, thank you Susie</p><p>Susie: No problem.</p><p> </p><p>It had been about a week and a half now since Taranza got amnesia. He was beginning to get to know the people he was once good friends with again, and started trying to hang out with them - it was going well so far, though Taranza was still quite shy around these people.</p><p>He's started getting outside, now that Susie was less worried about him getting lost or still being injured. He still stays at her place, too nervous to stay at Magolor's place, where he had been before the whole situation with the dimensional mirror happened.</p><p>Taranza's had a few dreams here and there about the mirror again, but they've become a bit less frequent, much to his own relief. He was tired of constantly waking up in the middle of the night because he had another bad dream about it.</p><p>He slowly makes his way outside, curious to see what this 'snow' stuff was about, already having completely forgotten about the warning that Susie gave.</p><p>Well, that was until he took a peek at the winter wonderland stretching out before him, and felt the chill in the air. It was <strong>cold</strong>. Very, very much.</p><p>The last days of fall had been somewhat warm and at worst rainy, but this definitely beat the temperature drop during rain by a mile.</p><p>He quickly scurries back inside, not wanting to go out into the freezing temperatures. Susie noticed as she was just about to go outside as well.</p><p>"Not a fan of the cold, hm?" she asks, looking outside at the frosty snowflakes dropping to the ground.</p><p>He shakes his head, and Susie giggles, moving past him.</p><p>She wore a scarf and a hat, as well as some generally warmer clothes.</p><p>"I figured, so I asked Magolor to come by and bring some of your stuff. Wouldn't want you to catch a cold," she smiles.</p><p>They waited near the entrance to Susie's workshop for a while, until Taranza caught a glimpse of something blue in the distance, hurrying towards them.</p><p>It was Magolor, wearing a scarf and a fluffy cloak, carrying a fairly small bag.</p><p>The weather had since calmed down, the snow settling lightly on the ground. Taranza began waving as soon as Magolor was closing in.</p><p>"Hi Magolor!" Taranza smiles as Magolor reaches the entrance of the workshop. "Hey Mags," Susie says, closing the door after Magolor comes inside.</p><p>"Hey Tazzy, hey Susie," Magolor replies, a bit out of breath. He then hands Taranza the bag. "Here are your winter clothes! Or well, at least those I could find."</p><p>"Thank you," Taranza answers, taking the bag.</p><p>"Do you want to join Kirby, Susie and I? We're going out to have some fun in the snow," Magolor asks, blinking. Taranza thinks for a moment, then nods. "Sure!"</p><p>"Marx, Bandana and Flamberge are coming too, they said so earlier in the group chat. The rest are busy - well, aside from Daroach and Dark, they're having fun on their own," Susie giggles.</p><p>"Oh right, he did mention they're going on a date when I asked him if he wanted to come as well this morning," Magolor recalls. Taranza looks at the bag, then towards where his room was.</p><p>"I'm just gonna, uh, change into some warmer clothes," he says, before leaving the room to put something else on. In a few minutes, he returns, wearing a fluffier scarf, a hat, some different gloves and a thicker cloak.</p><p>"Ready?" Magolor asks, to which Taranza nods, smiling. "Let's go then," Susie says, and the three go outside.</p><p>----</p><p>Kirby waved happily as Taranza and the others approach the place where Marx, Bandana, Flamberge and him were waiting. "Poyo!" he exclaims excitedly.</p><p>"Bonjam!! I didn't know you were also coming, Taranza!" Flamberge states as the three arrive. Taranza rubs the back of his head nervously. "Well, Susie said you were all gonna be here, so I thought I might as well join!" he smiles. Flamberge gives him a thumbs up.</p><p>Marx giggles. "I suppose you were confused about all this white stuff when you looked outside, huh?" he asks, causing Flamberge to give him a quite confused look. "Mhm," Taranza hums to confirm.</p><p>Flamberge blinks. "You don't know what snow is?" she questions. Magolor nods. "Until he first came to Dream Land, Taranza had never seen snow, since he only lived in the upper parts of Floralia, high above the clouds. And since he forgot pretty much everything of his time in Dream Land, he wouldn't remember what it is." he explains.</p><p>"Oh, that makes sense," Flamberge replies. "Well, now that you get to experience for the first time again, how is it?"</p><p>"Hm, it seems fun! And also cold. Very cold." the spider answers. Marx laughs. "I suppose that's why Susie had Mags stop by at her place?"</p><p>Susie nods. "Wouldn't want him to go out and get sick, y'know?"</p><p>"Poyo!" Kirby responds, smiling.</p><p>"So, what do we do now?" Taranza asks, still a bit confused by this snow stuff.</p><p>"Well, we could build something out of the snow..." Flamberge starts, grabbing some snow from the ground, forming it into a ball, "...or we can do this," she smirks, before turning around, throwing the snowball at Marx, who was already preparing his own to throw at someone. "Snowball fight!" she yelled, before ducking as Marx threw his own in her direction, instead hitting Susie.</p><p>For a moment Taranza stands there, but then he makes one as well after Kirby threw one to him. A proper snowball fight quickly breaks out, and soon it's everyone against everyone, Taranza forgetting about the cold completely, too focused on throwing and dodging.</p><p>It lasts quite some time, until Magolor throws a snowball at Marx, missing him, instead hitting the tree that Marx was standing under, burying him in a pile of snow. They have a laugh about it as Magolor helps Marx out, pulling him out from underneath the pile. Taranza smiles, feeling a certain warmth grasp his heart that he hadn't felt in a long time as he watched the two.</p><p>Flamberge and the others were still laughing while Marx was crawling out. Taranza couldn't help but giggle along himself - seeing Marx covered in snow was quite funny.</p><p>Afterwards, they built some snowmen. Taranza made one in the shape of Kirby, grinning as Kirby excitedly came over and started waving his arms, exclaiming "Poyo!" several times, sounding like praise. The pink puffball was absolutely amazed with how good Taranza was at building things from snow, despite not having seen snow before.</p><p>----</p><p>A while later, the snowstorm was starting up again, forcing everyone to say their goodbyes for now and return home. By the time Taranza and Susie arrived back at the workshop, it was snowing heavily.</p><p>Happy for the warmth of his room, Taranza quickly slipped back inside, cuddling up under a second blanket Susie had given him. The two chat for a while, drinking some hot chocolate.</p><p>They sit in silence for a while, simply watching the cold weather outside as the various inhabitants of Dream Land that were still about hurried to their homes.</p><p>"Susie, can I ask some questions about our friendship..? Before I lost my memories, I mean... I want to know something, but I don't want to ask something that might upset you..." Taranza asks quietly. Susie looks over at him. "Go ahead," she replies.</p><p>"Why did we become such close friends? Like, I know we get along well and all... but I can't help but feel like there's something more to it.. I get along well with Kirby too, and yet we weren't as close.."</p><p>Susie looks down at the ground, letting out a quiet sigh. She knew this question would come up sooner or later. She then gazes back up at Taranza.</p><p>"You're right, there is something more to it. Shortly after we first met, you became very fascinated with me - not in a weird way, you just sorta really looked up to me. I didn't really understand why, until..." She makes a short pause to gather her thoughts and takes a deep breath, trying to form the next few words in a way that they would hopefully not upset Taranza. "During the time we were chasing Void Termina, you... had a breakdown of sorts, and you told Mags and I a lot that we didn't know, about the Queen. It was then that I realized that we both lost a loved one, and we both lost it to some horrible contraption that corrupted them."</p><p>She plays with her fingers nervously. "I lost my father nearly three years ago now, to a horrible machine called Star Dream. He reconstructed it to wish me back after I had become trapped in Another Dimension due to an accident. But every time he used it, he forgot more and more. By the time I returned, he didn't even recognize me anymore. It pissed me off a lot at the time, and I thought Star Dream was more important to him than me, his own daughter, so I planned to betray the company and father and sell Star Dream. In the end, I was indirectly responsible for his death, as Star Dream took control of him when I tried to use the helmet that allowed one to interface with Star Dream, and effectively killed him. I didn't know until I found the plans he'd made and journal entries he'd written what really happened."</p><p>She sighs, looking back at the ground. "I ended up managing to move on and continued what my father had planned before everything with Star Dream happened - giving others happy lives. Back then, when we first really became close friends, you told me that you looked up to me because of that - we went through similar things, but I managed to move on and come out on top of all the shit life threw at me. You wanted to be like me, because you were struggling to move on still, but you saw that it could be done - you saw that in me. I tried what I could to help you, but unlike me, who hadn't seen my father for many years of my life, you were always right by her side... and that probably made moving on all the harder. <strong>Especially</strong> considering why it happened in the first place-"</p><p>Ah. Shit. There was the piece of information she tried to avoid telling Taranza ever since she began explaining to him what had all happened in those eight years he'd forgotten. She didn't want him to have to feel the guilt all over again, having always thought that it was the major contributor as to why Taranza couldn't just move on like her. Well, now she was going to have to tell him anyways, he'd already heard her mention it.</p><p>"Why it happened??" Taranza asked, confused.</p><p>Susie looks over at him with a worried and upset expression. She lets out a deep exhale, unsure of how to word this.</p><p>"Mhm. There's something I haven't told you yet, but I know you're going to ask me now that I've accidentally mentioned it."</p><p>Taranza blinks, not sure what Susie meant.</p><p>"You remember the mirror, yes? The one you gave her."</p><p>Taranza gives a nod, not sure what Susie was getting at.</p><p>"The mirror is known as the dimensional mirror. It's where Dark Meta Knight comes from, as well as many, many others. All of us here? We all have a mirror counterpart over in the world through that mirror. Kirby, Magolor, you, me - we all have counterparts there. Even Dark Matter does. But in the mirror world, Dark Matter rose to power, because the Kirby of that world was not powerful enough to stop them. It is a dark place filled with many evils, liars, tyrants, you name it. The leader of the Dark Matter, Dark Mind, has a significant amount of strength, and like the Dark Matters of our world, is able to control others, like he has done with Dark Meta Knight, Dark Dedede and many others."</p><p>"But his control was not only limited to his own world. He was able to exhibit control even through the mirror. From what Meta Knight and the others said, that is what was changing Sectonia bit by bit, until she became a tyrannical queen who Kirby had to defeat, with no hopes of saving her anymore. Because of the influence of darkness through the mirror, she became more and more obsessive and evil, until eventually she was nothing more than a husk of her former self."</p><p>It hit Taranza like a truck.</p><p>Susie looks to the ground. "I kept this information to myself because I didn't want you to blame yourself again, like you always did before you lost your memories. You couldn't have known what kind of darkness the mirror exhibited at the time - none of us knew. Kirby, Meta and Dark believed Dark Mind to be destroyed forever, as Kirby had destroyed him previously while trapped inside the mirror world." She gazes back up at Taranza, who was holding back tears. "I'm sorry for not telling you the full truth. But please don't think it was your fault. You didn't know what the mirror was or what it was capable of. There's nothing that could've indicated such a thing."</p><p>Taranza begins crying, hugging Susie tightly. He wasn't upset with her for withholding the information, neither was he upset at anyone but himself.</p><p>He was responsible for what happened to his beloved. She became the way she did because of the mirror which he brought her. And because of that, she had to die, too corrupted to be freed in any other way anymore.</p><p>Well, it did explain all his nightmares, and why he kept seeing her in the dreams of the mirror.</p><p>He felt Susie pat his back, trying to comfort him. And he appreciated it deeply.</p><p>He tries to keep Susie's words in mind. That it wasn't his fault, because he couldn't have known what a horrible thing this mirror was, or what it would do. But the information he just got was very hard to process, almost more difficult than everything else he'd learned so far combined into one. He understands why she wanted to keep it a secret, at least until he got his memories back. It was horrible to know that you had a hand in why your loved one died. But he knew he will need to move on. He has to move on. He has to, for the sake of his friends. It might be a rocky road, but he had to traverse it. If he didn't, things would end up the same again - he would go to the mirror to make the mistake of trying to find <strong>her</strong>, and it would lead to him being hurt, or worse. He didn't want his old friends to go through this turmoil again because of him being unable to accept her death and move past it.</p><p>What Susie told him about herself still rang in the back of his head. She, too, lost a loved one, and it was indirectly her fault. But she managed to move on. And Taranza looked up to her for that. Hell, he still does now. She went through all these terrible things, through all this trauma... and she still came out on top of it all. He admired that about her.</p><p>They sit together, hugging each other, the only sound filling the room being Taranza's quiet sobs.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>4:42 pm</em>
</p><p>Meta Knight: So... it seems Susie spilled the beans. By accident.</p><p>Magolor: Oh no.</p><p>Daroach: oh no</p><p>Marx: oh boy.</p><p>Meta Knight: Taranza knows now. Susie says he's still thinking everything over. It's a lot, obviously, and Susie isn't sure if/how he'll handle it. Apparently he's been crying a lot, though that's not a surprise.</p><p>Magolor: Is there anything we can do?</p><p>Daroach: ^</p><p>Meta Knight: She said it's best if we leave him be for now, since she's with him right now. Getting any more people involved will probably overwhelm him.</p><p>Marx: yeah, she's right. we don't want to make the situation even more stressful on him.</p><p>Daroach: i'd still like to do something tho...</p><p>Bandana: we could send him some nice messages over DMs? you know, let him know we're there for him and stuff</p><p>Magolor: Sounds like a good idea. That way he can look at them when he wants to so he doesn't get overwhelmed. Any objections?</p><p>Kirby: Oh, that's not good (＠´＿｀＠) I hope he feels better soon!</p><p>Kirby: I'm gonna write him some nice messages now</p><p>Meta Knight: No objections here. Susie also thinks it's a good idea.</p><p>Magolor: Alright, it's settled then. <strong>@everyone</strong> If you can, write Taranza some nice messages. If you don't know what's going on, read the above messages.</p><p>Marx: on it</p><p>Daroach: got it</p><p>Bandana: will do!!</p><p>Dedede: Sending some as well. Hopefully he feels better soon.</p><p>Flamberge: Also sending some!</p><p>Francisca: Zan and I are also sending some messages to him. <strong>@Susie</strong> Jif there's anything we can do, please let us know.</p><p>----</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em><br/>
<br/>
<em>7:09 pm</em>
</p><p>Taranza: Hi all. I just wanted to thank everyone for the kind messages. It means a lot 💛</p><p>Taranza: I thought it makes more sense to write here than reply to everyone individually.</p><p>Daroach: of course, it's not a problem. how are you feeling?</p><p>Flamberge: Jaitte from the three of us! Are you feeling any better?</p><p>Taranza: A bit better than before, yeah. It's a lot to think about.</p><p>Marx: taranza!!! i hope youre feeling a bit better 💜</p><p>Taranza: I think I cried so much that I am physically incapable of crying now</p><p>Magolor: Did you drink anything since?? I hope you feel better very soon 💙</p><p>Kirby: You need to drink something if you cried a lot!! (｡•́︿•̀｡)</p><p>Kirby: At least that's what Meta told me</p><p>Susie: It's alright, I already made sure he drank something once he was able to.</p><p>Taranza: Yeah... I think I'm gonna sleep now. I feel like I could sleep forever.</p><p>Marx: okay, good night!</p><p>Flamberge: Jaitty!</p><p>Kirby: good night!</p><p>Daroach: gn!! but please don't sleep forever</p><p>Magolor: Sleep well</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Mirror Mirror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Susie, Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight move out to figure things out in the mirror world. Taranza relocates to Kirby's place for the meantime.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>More Jambadran words:<br/>Bonjamcon - Good Luck (jam + Bonŝancon (Esperanto word for good luck))<br/>Rijamga jiciro - Stay Safe (jam + rimanga &amp; ji + sicuro (Italian for Stay Safe))</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taranza slowly blinks his eyes open as he stirs awake to the sound of rustling. He looks over to where the noise came from, seeing Susie pack some things into a bag.</p><p>After having suffered quite a few nightmares the past nights and becoming afraid to sleep alone, Susie offered for Taranza to sleep in her room on the couch, with the spider gladly accepting, happy to be at least a <strong>little</strong> less afraid.</p><p>He sits up, rubbing his eyes, wondering what Susie was up to. She turns around as she hears the shuffling of Taranza sitting up, smiling a bit.</p><p>"Good morning," she says, giving a small wave. Taranza, in turn, waves back.</p><p>"Good morning, Susie," he replies, still in a bit of a daze and confused as to what Susie was doing. "What are you up to?"</p><p>Susie's smile fades, and she begins playing with a strand of hair. "Meta, Dark and I are going into the mirror world to try and retrace your steps and see if we can find out what happened to your memories," she explains, "So I'm packing a few things I think I might need."</p><p>Taranza's expression grew worried, having had nightmares about the mirror since he woke up with a large amount of his memories missing. "Be careful," he says, "that place is terrible, at least from what I've seen in my dreams..."</p><p>Susie pats him on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, we will be fine. Dark Meta Knight knows the mirror world better than anyone."</p><p>Taranza nods, though he didn't exactly seem all that assured.</p><p>"Since I won't be here for a bit... I was wondering if you want to stay here or go to someone who isn't coming along into the mirror. I already asked if anyone's willing to have you for that time, in case you don't want to be here alone. Kirby's offered that you can stay at his place." Susie says.</p><p>Taranza thinks for a moment, then decides he'd rather stay at Kirby's for the time being than staying at the workshop alone. He <em>really</em> didn't like the thought of being alone, at all.</p><p>Susie nods. "Alright. I'll tell Kirby then, and drop you off at his place later," she replies, "it's on the way anyways."</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <em>10:14 am</em>
</p><p>Susie: <strong>@Kirby</strong> I'm dropping off Taranza at your place in a few minutes. <strong>@Meta Knight @Dark Meta Knight</strong> I'll be at the mirror in about 15 minutes.</p><p>Meta Knight: We'll be waiting for you there.</p><p>Kirby: <strong>@Susie</strong> Okay!! ( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ See you then!</p><p>Marx: hol up what</p><p>Marx: where are you guys going????</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: They're coming to the mirror world. We will investigate and retrace Taranza's steps in here.</p><p>Magolor: Shit, be careful</p><p>Magolor: I've never been to the mirror myself but I've heard enough tales about what it looks like in there. I'd prefer not to lose more friends or their memories to it.</p><p>Daroach: yeah, please watch your step</p><p>Dark Meta Knight: Don't worry. I know this place better than anyone else.</p><p>Susie: And if anything goes wrong we can always contact you guys. We're taking just about every precaution we can.</p><p>Susie: Anyways, Taranza is staying at Kirby's place for now, since Meta, Dark and I will be away. If any of you want to visit him, talk to Kirby.</p><p>Marx: good luck</p><p>Flamberge: Bonjamcon! Rijamga jiciro!</p><p>Susie: Thank you.</p><p>Marx: you understood all that??</p><p>Daroach: they're girlfriends of course susie learned a ton of jambadran by now</p><p>Francisca: Accurate but it's actually because Susie wanted to learn Jambadran, them getting together happened afterwards.</p><p>Daroach: oh</p><p>Daroach: fair</p><p>----</p><p>Taranza had the blanket wrapped around him, not all that comfortable with the cold weather yet, despite the fact that Kirby's place was fairly warm.</p><p>"Poyo!" Kirby smiles, placing a cup of hot chocolate in front of Taranza. The spider smiles back, thanking Kirby.</p><p>A snowstorm had since taken a hold of Dream Land again, starting just shortly after Susie left.</p><p>Taranza was still very nervous about the fact that Susie was going to go into the mirror. She explained that Dark Meta Knight had lived in the mirror all his life, so naturally he would know the most about it from all of them. Still, he couldn't help but worry about what might happen.</p><p>Luckily, Kirby was quite good at distracting people. He soon had Taranza focus entirely on the things he was showing him, excitedly grabbing various items from around the house to show to Taranza. There was a few things Kirby had crafted, some board and card games, as well as a few books.</p><p>Afterwards, Kirby walked over to the box with the music boxes, pointing at it. "Poyo?" he asks. Taranza blinks. "You want to listen to the music boxes?" "Poyo!" Kirby exclaims, nodding.</p><p>Taranza smiles, and picks it up, opening the lid. "Which one do you want to listen to?" Taranza says, looking over at Kirby, who quickly points at one that had a cloud painted on it. Taranza winds it up, listening to it. A peaceful and soft melody came from it.</p><p>The two spent the rest of the afternoon listening to almost every music box in the carton, unable to go outside and play.</p><p>---</p><p>Towards the evening, the two had pretty much exhausted every option of what to do while confined in the house.</p><p>That is, until Kirby comes up with the idea that they could play some games with the others in the group chat.</p><p>While Taranza was a bit nervous to talk there still, he knew all of the members by now. Kirby assured him that it would be fine.</p><p>He's missed a lot of messages since he wrote the last time, first taking the time to read through all of the DMs that he's received since, before checkng in the group chat.</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em> <b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <em>5:27 pm</em>
</p><p>Kirby: Hai~! <strong>@here</strong>, does anyone want to play something with Taranza and me? （‐＾▽＾‐）</p><p>Marx: sure</p><p>Daroach: sure!</p><p>Magolor: Yeah, why not.</p><p>Flamberge: Ye!!</p><p>Francisca: Zan and I would also like to join.</p><p>Dedede: I'm down</p><p>Bandana: ill join too!!</p><p>Gooey: :P</p><p>Adeleine: Ribbon and I would join, but we're busy drawing right now, sorry!</p><p>Kirby: No problem, Adeleine!! Say hi to Ribbon from me, and have fun!!! （*´▽｀*）</p><p>Adeleine: Will do!</p><p>Kirby: Is that everyone? :0</p><p>Magolor: Pretty sure it is, since Susie, Meta and Dark aren't here right now, and Coo mentioned earlier that Rick and the others were having a baking session.</p><p>Magolor: Tazzy, you here?</p><p>Taranza: Yeah, just read through all the old messages first.</p><p>Marx: so what are we gonna play??</p><p>Kirby: I thought about never have I ever! It was gonna be Truth or Dare but that's kind of hard since we're all stuck at home!!</p><p>Magolor: True. Never have I ever sounds good as well though.</p><p>Marx: im down for that</p><p>Daroach: same</p><p>Bandana: same</p><p>Dedede: Same</p><p>Gooey: :D</p><p>Flamberge: Sure!! How does this game work though</p><p>Magolor: Someone says something that they have never done and whoever has done it loses a point. The last person with points wins.</p><p>Flamberge: That sounds fun!</p><p>Marx: it is</p><p>Marx: throwback to the last time we played this and i murdered everyone except for meta knight by saying never have i ever not gotten a wish granted from nova. too bad for everyone who's never gotten a wish from nova but im different :))</p><p>Magolor: That's because Nova blew up after Kirby defeated you, how the hell are we supposed to get a wish if Nova is destroyed.</p><p>Marx: cranky cause you lost because of that line arent you</p><p>Magolor: &gt;:c</p><p>Kirby: Ok, it's settled then! Let's play never have I ever! (＾▽＾) We'll do that everyone starts with 10 points, like last time. That seems fair! Everyone who loses a point says their current number!</p><p>Marx: who should start</p><p>Magolor: I say Kirby starts since he's the one who got all of us together.</p><p>Daroach: same</p><p>Flamberge: Sounds fair!</p><p>Kirby: Alright!</p><p>Kirby: You're all going to immediately regret this though  (。-`ω´-)</p><p>Kirby: Never have I ever... been possessed (｀▽´)</p><p>Magolor: ...</p><p>Daroach: wow, that was ice cold, kirby. 9</p><p>Magolor: 9.</p><p>Dedede: 9</p><p>Francisca: Ouch, 9.</p><p>Flamberge: 9 :(</p><p>Zan Partizanne: 9, jamblasted.</p><p>Bandana: 9</p><p>Marx: holy shit what a massacre</p><p>Marx: 9</p><p>Gooey: :D</p><p>Taranza: I didn't get possessed during the time I don't remember, did I?</p><p>Magolor: Nope, not that I know of.</p><p>Kirby: I don't think so either!</p><p>Daroach: wait hold on</p><p>Daroach: <strong>@Marx</strong> when were you possessed????</p><p>Marx: before all the shit with nova went down</p><p>Marx: i got possessed when zero and dark matter invaded popstar and it didnt leave until kirby defeated me after it made me wish for power from nova :^)</p><p>Daroach: oh yikes</p><p>Daroach: sorry for asking, idk if thats a sensitive topic for u</p><p>Marx: nah its cool ratboy</p><p>Marx: on the plus side i got some sick ass powers out of it</p><p>Marx: on the downside theyre hella hard to control sometimes</p><p>Marx: anyways who's next?</p><p>Magolor: Are we just going to ignore that Kirby singlehandedly murdered everyone except for Gooey Tazzy and himself?</p><p>Dedede: Yes</p><p>Magolor: Ok fair enough.</p><p>Kirby: Marx goes next!</p><p>Marx: oh cool</p><p>Marx: never have i ever crashed a ship</p><p>Magolor: Targeting. 8.</p><p>Kirby: ALSO TARGETING!!! 9 ( &gt;д&lt;)</p><p>Daroach: not targeting, 8</p><p>Marx: ok ill admit i was targeting kirby there lol</p><p>Marx: catboy goes next ( ͡❛ ᴗ ͡❛)</p><p>Taranza: Catboy???</p><p>Daroach: magolor</p><p>Dedede: Magolor</p><p>Marx: magolor</p><p>Taranza: Why catboy though??</p><p>Marx: 1) moves his ears like cats do 2) warm milk 3) tries to sleep curled up like a kitten 4) does the dot chasing thing</p><p>Magolor: How dare you call me out like this, in front of Taranza no less</p><p>Marx: ( ͡❛ ᵜ ͡❛) its funny</p><p>Magolor: ...</p><p>Magolor: Never have I ever made a wish to Nova.</p><p>Marx:</p><p>Marx:</p><p>Marx: ( ͡° ʖ̯ ͡°)</p><p>Marx: ( ͡°Ĺ̯ ͡° )</p><p>Marx: Fuck you.</p><p>Marx: 8</p><p>Daroach: NOW THAT WAS COLD</p><p>Flamberge: I've never seen Marx type with proper capitalization, this is new</p><p>Magolor: :^)</p><p>Magolor: Bandana goes next.</p><p>Bandana: oh boy! uh</p><p>Bandana: never have i ever fought kirby or tried to</p><p>Daroach: YO</p><p>Daroach: ANOTHER MASSACRE INCOMING</p><p>Daroach: 7</p><p>Marx: 7</p><p>Magolor: Wow, 7.</p><p>Flamberge: Damn! 8</p><p>Zan Partizanne: 8.</p><p>Francisca: 8</p><p>Dedede: Now that's coldblooded. 8</p><p>Kirby: 8</p><p>Magolor: Kirby????</p><p>Kirby: Shadow Kirby counts,,,,</p><p>Taranza: Do I count too? Susie said we never actually fought</p><p>Magolor: Oh yeah, you're right.</p><p>Dedede: I'd say it counts, you technically did try to fight Kirby</p><p>Taranza: Fair enough. 9</p><p>Bandana: wow, thats a lot more damage than i intended to do</p><p>Bandana: woops</p><p>Bandana: the king is next!</p><p>Dedede: Imma play an Uno reverse on Kirby</p><p>Dedede: Never have I ever not been possessed at least once in my life</p><p>Kirby: !!!!! [○･｀Д´･○]</p><p>Kirby: 7</p><p>Gooey: :( 9</p><p>Marx: nice</p><p>Taranza: 8</p><p>Magolor: Is this even allowed?</p><p>Dedede: By royal decree it is allowed</p><p>Magolor: Fair enough.</p><p>Dedede: anyways Daroach goes next</p><p>Daroach: 😳</p><p>Daroach: never have I ever eaten snow</p><p>Marx: WHAT</p><p>Kirby: 6</p><p>Gooey: ! &gt;:(</p><p>Gooey: 8</p><p>Marx: 6</p><p>Flamberge: ...7</p><p>Daroach: that!! was a lot more than i was expecting!!</p><p>Daroach: Taranza goes next!</p><p>Taranza: Oh</p><p>Taranza: Uhm...</p><p>Taranza: Never have I ever won a game of Monopoly</p><p>Magolor: OH MY STARS</p><p>
  <em>Several people are typing...</em>
</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em><b>Dream Friends 4ever group chat</b> </em>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <em>11:49 pm</em>
</p><p>Susie: Help</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Into the Mirror</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kirby and friends hurry to the mirror after Susie's worrying last message.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>We're closing in on the end of this fic! Also I'm very bad at writing action scenes.<br/>ALSO welcome to i dont proofread until its too late</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The group had gathered around the dimensional mirror, looking up at it.</p><p>Taranza feels a certain familiarity from looking at it. One that did not feel good, one that made him feel afraid.</p><p>Still, he had to be strong. As much as he wanted to run away. Hide from this thing.</p><p>Susie needed his help, and no amount of fear could stop him from doing what he can to rescue his closest friend. She had done so much for him, and it was time for him to repay that debt.</p><p>Despite the initial shock, Taranza was the first to immediately decide that he would go to the mirror world. Sure, he said that on a whim without thinking about the consequences, but his decision still stood, and it wasn't going to change.</p><p>Soon after, almost the entire group had settled on going into the mirror to find and help Susie, Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight. Only Adeleine, Ribbon and the Animal Friends decided to stay back - in case something happens in Dream Land, so that it is not unprotected.</p><p>Now that they were standing here, in front of it, that optimism from before vanished quickly.</p><p>He couldn't remember much about the mirror. Other than what his dreams had given him and what Susie has told him, there was little he knew.</p><p>But none of that mattered. What mattered was going in there and saving their friends.</p><p>"So, what's our plan?" Daroach asks, looking into the group. "Because going in there without a plan is <em>not</em> a good idea."</p><p>Magolor thinks for a moment. "The mirror world is big, and we have no clue where to even look for them..."</p><p>Taranza stares intently at the mirror.</p><p>A flash of a memory comes upon him.</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em>In front of him were several mirror doors, all leading to various places within the mirror world.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The big mirror in the middle... he felt somewhat drawn to it.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Within the surface, he recognizes a ruin of sorts.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Some of the other doors also stood out to him, particularly the ones leading to a palace of ice, a castle, another ruinous area, and one through which he can gaze into outer space.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The other options seem less likely to be points of interests to his quest. Still, he keeps them in the back of his mind.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>A glint of purple hushes through the frame of the castle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>---</em>
</p><p>That was a memory.</p><p>Either that, or he just saw something through the eyes of his mirror world counterpart, something he isn't even sure is possible.</p><p>He had to tell the others about it either way.</p><p>"The castle, the palace, the space station, or one of the two ruins."</p><p>The group turns to look at Taranza, everyone seeming confused, but particularly Kirby.</p><p>"Poyo?!" he exclaims with shock.</p><p>"How do you know those places!?" Dedede asks, visibly shocked. "I thought you don't remember anything from inside the mirror!"</p><p>Taranza shakes his head. "I just had a memory. When I went in there before I lost my memories, there was five areas I felt particularly drawn to. A palace of ice, a castle, two different ruins, and a space station. There was a glint of purple within the frame of the castle door. I've told Susie about seeing all of these places in my dreams before. If they are retracing my steps from those dreams, then they <strong>have</strong> to be in one of those areas."</p><p>Magolor blinks. "Then we split up into smaller groups. Everyone goes to one point of interest you remembered and searches for the three there. If you've found nothing, return to the Central Circle, where the mirror to our world is located."</p><p>Taranza nods. Despite the dangers of not going in a big group, they had to cover more ground, and <em>quickly</em>. They don't know how much time they have to find the others.</p><p>The rest agree to the plan.</p><p>"Magolor, Marx, you go in one group with Taranza." The three nod.</p><p>"We will take the mirror with the purple glint. I've told Susie that I encountered who I assume is my counterpart, Dark Taranza, in a castle during one of my dreams. If they're retracing my steps, they likely went into this mirror first." Taranza adds.</p><p>Dedede gives a nod. "Flamberge, Francisca, Zan, you three go together as well. Take the mirror door that leads to the ice palace and search there."</p><p>"Daroach, you and your squad take the mirror that goes to the space station."</p><p>"Kirby, go with Gooey to one of the two ruins. Bandan and I will go to the other one."</p><p>Kirby nods.</p><p>"Alright, everyone clear on what to do?"</p><p>A resounding 'Yes' from the whole group.</p><p>"Let's go."</p><p>---</p><p>The inside of the castle was eerily peaceful, at least in comparison to what Taranza was expecting.</p><p>He gazes into the corridor ahead of them with uncertainty.</p><p>What if Susie and the others have been kidnapped and taken to somewhere else? Then they might be somewhere that nobody had a clue to get to.</p><p>Magolor notices Taranza's stare.</p><p>"We'll find them." he said in a reassuring tone.</p><p>Taranza nods, wanting to believe that to be the truth.</p><p>"Come on, let's go," Taranza whispers as they enter the halls.</p><p>Aside from a few monsters, the castle was essentially empty. That void only added to Taranza's fears. Where was everyone? Would a castle of such scale not be more lively? Floralia's castle was smaller, and yet far more lively than this.</p><p>As the group makes their way into the inner sanctum of it, Taranza grows more nervous than before.</p><p>This... this was familar. He remembers these corridors, and he <em>remembers</em> seeing more foes than this. Something was wrong; very, very wrong. Either someone had taken all the creatures from the castle, or they were killed.</p><p>They enter a large room with many doors. The group pauses for a moment, unsure of where to go.</p><p>There it was again, that flash. Another memory.</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em>As he enters the room, he notices the distinct lack of enemies, in comparison to the rest of his journey so far.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>It was as if someone deliberately set this up.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>There were so many doors... he was unsure which one to take.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>That is, until he sees a figure in one of the doorframes for just a second. It's that person again, the one he's seen various times throughout the castle now. What were they doing? Where were they leading him?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Maybe they had some answers that he so desperately wanted.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Determined to find someone who may be able to help him, he follows the figure to where it had vanished to.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The corridors along the path were empty, devoid of any sign of life or danger.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Unsure what to make of it, he ignores these glaringly obvious red flags, pursuing the path further.</em>
</p><p>---</p><p>"Taranza?"</p><p>Magolor and Marx were looking at Taranza with a worried expression, but he just shakes his head.</p><p>"Sorry. I had another memory." he points to the door that he had gone through in that memory. "The last time I was here, I saw a figure through that door. It was a trap that the other me set up. If... If the others were here, retracing my steps, they likely fell into the same trap. Dark Meta Knight was looking for my mirror counterpart."</p><p>Magolor and Marx look at each other, then nod.</p><p>"Alright, let's go through that door then. Maybe we can still catch up and help them," Magolor says, and the group hurries through the door.</p><p>Taranza remembers managing to escape the first trap his mirror counterpart had set up, within this castle. It was through sheer luck, and the other Taranza chased after him all the way to one of the ruins, after he passed through several other areas as well. It was there he was finally captured.</p><p>Knowing how he escaped last time, his mirror counterpart probably improved the trap to ensure that no one could escape it this time.</p><p>Hurrying through the corridors, the group quickly arrives in the big room that Taranza remembers the trap being in.</p><p>It was empty.</p><p>Well, mostly.</p><p>But there were clear signs of struggle along the walls and the floor.</p><p>"A dead-end," Marx says, sighing.</p><p>Magolor turns to look at Taranza. "What now?"</p><p>Taranza is growing more panicky by the second. The signs of struggle made it clear that the three got into a conflict, and the magical electric webs along the walls made it quite clear that it was his other self's doing.</p><p>Wait-</p><p>Magic.</p><p>Trying to bury the growing panic, Taranza takes a deep breath and closes his eyes.</p><p>His two companions stare at him in confusion.</p><p>...</p><p>He can <em>feel</em> a faint path of magic similar to his own.</p><p>The things she taught him came in handy once again, as they always do.</p><p>"We have to take the path on the left," he says, hurrying ahead, "I can sense a trail of magic from there!"</p><p>Magolor and Marx quickly follow.</p><p>The trio takes several turns through the corridors, and Taranza can sense them catching up to their target.</p><p>They were <strong>not</strong> going to let the other Taranza get away with their friends. No, he wasn't going to let his other self outsmart him again, like he did before he lost his memories.</p><p>Arriving in another large room, Taranza looks around. The magic trail ended here. They were in this room, he was certain.</p><p>It was dark, and hard to see. He was trying to find any sign of life, really.</p><p>...</p><p>There!</p><p>He shoots a net at the two glowing orbs that he saw for just a split second. A loud thud echoes in the dark.</p><p>Taranza feels the struggle against the net. He had to have hit his mirror counterpart, who was trying to get free.</p><p>But then the struggle stops, leaving Taranza confused.</p><p>The figure he had caught begins giggling, and Taranza grows even more perplexed. What-</p><p>A shock courses through his body, leaving him paralyzed for several moments as he screams in pain.</p><p>Taranza drops to the ground, injured, as his counterpart breaks free from the webs, illuminating the room just enough with a dark energy sphere so that you could see Susie, Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight, unconscious and trapped in a web.</p><p>"<em>You almost got me</em> <em>there,</em>" Dark Taranza giggles, dusting himself off, "<em>but I fear you will have to try harder.</em>"</p><p>Magolor and Marx had rushed to Taranza's side, who was still laying on the ground, paralyzed.</p><p>"Let- Let Susie and the others go..!" he manages to choke out. Magolor looks quite panicked, trying to dispel the paralysis magic.</p><p>"<em>I'm afraid I can't do that, hehe~! They are quite valuable to my master. Well, at least the two Dream Landers- Dark Meta Knight has been a thorn in our side for a long time, so it's good to get rid of him as well.</em>"</p><p>Magolor manages to dispel the magic. Taranza gets back up.</p><p>"We won't let you take them!" Marx shouts.</p><p>"<em>You don't have much of a choice. You're no match for me.</em>"</p><p>"We'll see about that!" Magolor fires two flames at him, but Dark Taranza simply dodges by teleporting out of the way.</p><p>"<em>I don't think so.</em>" it sounded from behind them.</p><p>Taranza quickly turns around and summons a barrier, pushing against the giant orb of dark magic about to hit them.</p><p>It was too powerful. Taranza couldn't hold it back, and he felt the barrier begin to weaken, unable to hold up against the strength of the dark magic.</p><p>To think his counterpart would be able to wield such powerful magic...</p><p>"Magolor- Marx-" he looks at his two companions behind him, "I can't-- hold the barrier for much longer-! You need to get out of the way-!" "But--" "No buts!"</p><p>Taranza struggles to keep the barrier holding together.</p><p>"I-I love you guys, more than anyone else in the world--" he feels himself be pushed closer to the ground from the overwhelming force, "I-- I love you as more than just friends- and I couldn't bear seeing either of you hurt-!"</p><p>He closes his eyes, feeling the barrier break. This was going to be it.</p><p>At least he thought so, until he suddenly felt the barrier strengthen.</p><p>Magolor was by his side, struggling to keep the barrier up.</p><p>And Marx- Marx crashed into Dark Taranza, causing him to lose his balance and the dark magic to lose focus, causing it to explode.</p><p>In the short pause of Magolor and Taranza letting down the barrier and rushing over to Marx, who had been hit by the explosion of the dark orb, Dark Taranza grabs his three captives and flees through the mirror.</p><p>"I'm alright!" Marx chuckles, jumping back up. "Quick, we have to follow him!"</p><p>Taranza and Magolor nod, and the trio rushes to the mirror door, passing through.</p><p>They were--</p><p>They were back in the Central Circle.</p><p>Taranza sees his mirror counterpart rush into another mirror door, and quickly chases after him. Magolor and Marx are about to follow him as the other groups begin returning.</p><p>In the short moment that they turned to see Kirby and the others come back, the mirror door Taranza and his dark counterpart disappeared into shattered, leaving them unable to chase after the two.</p><p>---</p><p>He finds himself in this odd, cloudy place.</p><p>It was almost too heavenly to be a part of the mirror world.</p><p>But then realization strikes him-</p><p>He has been here before. Back then, before he'd lost his memories.</p><p>This was where he saw <em>her</em>.</p><p>Tears begin forming in his eyes.</p><p>Just now, he feels... right. At peace.</p><p>He breaks down in this cloudy flower field.</p><p>He cries, and cries, and cries.</p><p>
  <em>Taranza.</em>
</p><p>He looks around himself, unable to find where that voice came from.</p><p>But... it felt oh so familiar...</p><p>
  <em>Taranza...</em>
</p><p>Could it really be her..?</p><p>An apparition appears before him as he rests on the ground, still sobbing.</p><p>Maybe it wasn't real, or maybe it was. It didn't exactly matter to him right now.</p><p>He just... felt happy. To see her.</p><p>
  <em>Taranza... please don't cry...</em>
</p><p>"I miss you so much." he whispers.</p><p>
  <em>I know, but...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your friends need you. You can't remain here.</em>
</p><p>"I know..."</p><p>
  <em>You need to move on... you can't stay trapped in the past forever.</em>
</p><p>"...I know..."</p><p>
  <em>I will always be with you, yeah?</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I will always watch over you and your friends...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I know it's difficult... but you need to come to terms with the truth.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>For your own sake.</em>
</p><p>Taranza sniffles, trying to wipe away his tears, giving a small nod.</p><p>
  <em>Your friends love you...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>I love you...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Never forget that!</em>
</p><p>She was right.</p><p>"Sectonia..."</p><p>
  <em>Yes...?</em>
</p><p>He tries to hug the apparition. For a moment he thinks it will fail, but...</p><p>The two remain in silence, embracing each other for several moments.</p><p>"Thank you," he whispers through tears.</p><p>She smiles at him.</p><p>After a short while, she pulls away.</p><p>
  <em>You need to go now..!</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Your friends are in trouble.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>You need to help them..</em>
</p><p>"Is this... goodbye?"</p><p>
  <em>Maybe...</em>
</p><p>
  <em>But I will always be with you, in your heart.</em>
</p><p>It's bittersweet.</p><p>But Taranza smiles anyways.</p><p>He gives a nod.</p><p>
  <em>Quick, hurry to them.</em>
</p><p>The phantom disappears slowly.</p><p>"Sectonia... thank you for everything," he says.</p><p>In the distance, he sees the shiny reflection of a mirror door. He hurries through the field to it.</p><p>Upon closer inspection, he notices that the other side of the mirror...</p><p>It showed the ruin he was previously captured in by Dark Taranza.</p><p>And there he saw his friends...</p><p>And two fierce foes.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. The Finale</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Taranza and his friends take their final stand again Dark Taranza and his mysterious master.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Welcome to the final chapter! I'm happy to finally finish a fic that isn't just a one-off.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"<em>Hehe~! This is what happens when you underestimate my master's power.</em>"</p><p>The Star Allies lay upon the ground, seemingly defeated.</p><p>"<em>And with all your memories, invading the other world will be easy!</em>"</p><p>"<em><strong>What about your counterpart, Dark Taranza...</strong></em>"</p><p>"<em>He followed me to the Dream Fields, hehe~! I reckon he's still busy running after the illusion of his dearest from the first time I trapped him there,</em> <em>hehe~. And even if he isn't, I shattered the entrance after exiting.</em>"</p><p>"<strong><em>Very well. Let us begin our plan then, by taking the memories of those you've brought me.</em></strong>"</p><p>"<em>Of course, master!</em>"</p><p>Dark Taranza made bodies of Susie, Meta Knight and Dark Meta Knight float up to the dark figure's height with his magic.</p><p>It seems like all is lost...</p><p>A magical web catches onto Dark Taranza's back, quickly enveloping him.</p><p>The dark spider lost focus as he felt shocks go through him, causing the three to drop to the ground, unconscious.</p><p>He turns his gaze to see who interrupted them.</p><p>Taranza.</p><p>"Let my friends go, you fiends." he says, looking serious.</p><p>Dark Taranza frees himself from the webs, glaring at Taranza, enraged.</p><p>"<strong><em>YOU!</em></strong><em> How did you escape Dream Fields?! I shattered the mirror!</em>" he questions.</p><p>Taranza grins. "I had the help of a friend," he answers, "and she told me stop you and save my friends!"</p><p>He looks at them, laying on the ground, injured, but conscious.</p><p>"They've done so much for me... and I think it's about time I repay the debt,"</p><p>Dark Taranza seemed afraid of Taranza's sudden confidence and determination... he wasn't like this the first time he came to the mirror world!</p><p>Taranza notices Kirby slowly getting back up. His grin grew wider.</p><p>"Hey, Kirby! Catch!" Taranza shouts, throwing a Maxim Tomato to the other.</p><p>Kirby grabs it and eats a piece, looking like he is regaining his strength. He quickly begins sharing with the others.</p><p>"<em>Why you..! You won't be a match for us!</em>" Dark Taranza seems to become more nervous as Taranza's friends get back up. "<em>We've already defeated you once!!</em>"</p><p>Taranza looks back up at Dark Taranza and his master. "Maybe so," he answers, "but last time we fought, I still had doubts in the back of my head, and some of my friends probably did too! But I have no doubts now. I know what we have to do!"</p><p>"Poyo!" Kirby chimes in, looking just as determined as Taranza was.</p><p>The group gathers around him.</p><p>"We're all right behind you!" Magolor cheers.</p><p>Taranza smiles.</p><p>They can do it.</p><p>No.</p><p>They <strong>will</strong> do it.</p><p>"<em><strong>...Hmph. What a useless display of hope. Your final stand is nothing compared to our power.</strong></em>"</p><p>"We've already defeated you once, Dark Mind," Dark Meta Knight says, "and this time, I will make sure you're erased from existence forever."</p><p>His gaze turns to Dark Taranza. "Can't you see?! He is manipulating your every move! You're not in control of yourself anymore!"</p><p>Dark Taranza seems unsure for a moment.</p><p>"<em><strong>SILENCE.</strong></em>"</p><p>"<em><strong>I've held this realm under MY control ever since we rose up from the dark. Your pink friend failed to destroy me once already, what makes you so certain that YOU can destroy me?!</strong></em>"</p><p>Taranza gazes at Dark Mind.</p><p>"You don't see it, do you?" Dark Mind stares Taranza down. "We might not be strong enough to defeat you when we're alone, but when we're together, we can overcome any challenge!"</p><p>Magolor chimes in. "He's right!" He looks over at Kirby. "Kirby has taught me a lot since my defeat; about being a good person, about friendship, and I'm sure many of our other friends can relate in one way or another. Through him, I've met many great people, and with them, I've conquered many challenges!"</p><p>Taranza smiles. "Our bonds are what make us strong! And you... you are nothing but another challenge to overcome!"</p><p>A resounding 'Yes!' comes from the group.</p><p>Dedede turns to look at the others. "Let's show 'em what we're made off!"</p><p>Dark Taranza had been preparing an attack, seeming different. He fires the dark orb at Taranza, but the attack is quickly repelled by Magolor shooting a flame at it, causing the orb to burst.</p><p>Taranza strikes back fast by summoning a stalk, knocking Dark Taranza out of the sky. The stalk glows for a moment before dispersing, and Dark Taranza seems to have been knocked out.</p><p>For some odd reason, he almost reminds him of Sectonia in that state, and Taranza wasn't exactly sure why.</p><p>Dark Mind gazes at his fallen minion. "<em><strong>Pitiful fool. He's outlived his use anyways.</strong></em>"</p><p>The group readied to fight.</p><p>"<em><strong>Quiver before my might!</strong></em>"</p><p>Before he knew it, Taranza felt himself be sucked into the mirror in front of them.</p><p>---</p><p>They stood upon a platform.</p><p>Taranza looks up, watching Dark Mind descend upon them in his true form.</p><p>It reminds him a painful amount of what Kirby had told him about Zero and the Dark Matters.</p><p>"<em><strong>THIS WILL BE YOUR END.</strong></em>"</p><p>And so the fight begins.</p><p>Dark Mind is a lot faster than Taranza had anticipated, often having to resort to barriers to protect himself, unable to dodge in time.</p><p>It is not until a few moments into it that Taranza notices the big plan of these uncoordinated attacks - split the group apart.</p><p>"He's trying to split us up!" Taranza yells to the others.</p><p>That angers Dark Mind. He charges at Taranza, who tries to protect himself with a barrier, knowing that it would be smashed instantly upon impact, but having no time to dodge the attack anymore.</p><p>Magolor summons a black hole close to the two, causing Dark Mind to slowly be pulled back, stopping his attack and temporarily knocking him to the ground.</p><p>In that short moment of vunerability, the whole team quickly attacks in whatever way they can, dealing damage before Dark Mind rises to the sky again.</p><p>His attacks become more organized this time, as his plan to split the Star Allies up and destroy them seperately failed. Because of this, the attacks hit harder, as they are not just randomly executed.</p><p>Marx manages to barely dodge an attack, having grabbed Kirby and moved him out of the line of fire.</p><p>With this increased coordination, though, came a glaring weakness - Dark Mind became more predictable with each move.</p><p>As Dark Mind charges a beam to fire at Taranza, he quickly strikes back, summoning a phantom of the Queen to protect himself, repelling the beams with lightning strikes.</p><p>Kirby had since acquired the fire copy ability, charging at Dark Mind, causing a significant amount of damage.</p><p>Dark Meta Knight strikes him with his blade, causing Dark Mind to fall to the ground once more.</p><p>The group flails on him once again, but Dark Mind manages to recover faster this time.</p><p>One more time.</p><p>They dodge attacks as Dark Mind grows more fierce with every move. Magolor is hit, but manages to get back up, while Daroach barely dodges an attack by teleporting at the last second.</p><p>As the orb charges at Kirby, Taranza quickly envelopes him in a spider web, though he knows he doesn't have enough strength to hold him.</p><p>But then Dedede, Storo and several other memebers of the team grab onto the sturdy web, pulling on it - and it works.</p><p>Dark Mind tries to pull the group after him with the spider web, but quickly becomes unable to move, promptly falling to the ground.</p><p>Taranza uses this opportunity to send shocks through the silk while the rest of the team moves to attack in closer range.</p><p>Just then, Taranza notices the cracks underneath.</p><p>The reflection was shattering.</p><p>"Keep going," he shouts, "he's cracking!"</p><p>Taranza tries his best to keep Dark Mind trapped underneath the web, but the orb begins to rise to the sky again, preparing one final attack. Before he can use it, though, Dark Meta Knight stabs him right in the eye.</p><p>The arena begins shaking as the sound of shattering glass becomes louder.</p><p>Had they done it?</p><p>Red beams emerged from where the cracks were.</p><p>Dark Meta Knight falls to the ground as Dark Mind shatters, once and for all.</p><p>A glowing white aura gathers around Taranza, leaving him, and the rest of the group, confused for a moment.</p><p>When he looks back up, everything clicks.</p><p>Taranza begins tearing up.</p><p>He runs over to the others, tightly hugging as many people as he can.</p><p>His memories.</p><p>They were his again.</p><p>"I've missed knowing you guys so much," he weeps with joy. The group smiles and cheers.</p><p>Unfortunately, their celebration is cut short as the ground beneath them begins to fall apart.</p><p>With Dark Mind gone, so does this little pocket realm of the mirror world.</p><p>A large mirror has appeared in the middle of the arena, allowing the group to return to the Central Circle.</p><p>They hurry towards it quickly.</p><p>---</p><p>Back in the Central Circle, the group finally gets to take a breather.</p><p>But their mission was successful. Not only did they find Susie and the others, they got back Taranza's memories and destroyed Dark Mind, freeing the mirror world from his control once and for all.</p><p>Needless to say, everyone is quite exhausted.</p><p>They decide it's time to head back.</p><p>Meta Knight looks at Dark Meta Knight.</p><p>"Will things be alright here, now that Dark Mind is gone?"</p><p>Dark Meta Knight nods.</p><p>"Even if there is other Dark Matters, like in your realm, they will be in disarray now that we've destroyed him. I can handle whatever comes now."</p><p>Kirby smiles. "Poyo!" he says cheerily.</p><p>"And if you do need help, you always have friends to call upon," Susie adds. Dark Meta Knight nods to that.</p><p>But Taranza has one more question.</p><p>"So... what about my mirror counterpart, Dark Taranza?"</p><p>The group looks at him.</p><p>"When I knocked him out, he... really reminded me of Sectonia. I didn't understand why at the time, but now that I have all of my memories back, I think... I think it's because he was corrupted like she was." He shakes his head. "What I mean to say is... What will you do with him?"</p><p>Dark Meta Knight seems to have already anticipated the question. "You're right. He seemed to be in the same state I was in when Dark Mind controlled me." He looks to the mirror that lead to the ruins where they had faced off against the duo. You could still see Dark Taranza there, unconscious. "I'll talk with him. Explain what happened. We'll see from there."</p><p>Taranza nods. Despite everything that happened... he wanted him to have a second chance. And Kirby had taught him how important those were.</p><p>Soon after, everyone aside from Dark Meta Knight returned to Dream Land.</p><p>Taranza, now with regained memories, decides to move back onto the Lor, like he had been before all of this happened. As much as he enjoyed the company of Susie and Kirby, he enjoys that of Marx and Magolor just a bit more.</p><p>Peace returns to both Dream Land and the world behind the Dimensional Mirror, and everyone is able to enjoy the calm times.</p><p>---</p><p>
  <em>
    <strong>DMS Taranza &lt;-&gt; Marx &lt;-&gt; Magolor</strong>
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  <em>2:15 am</em>
</p><p>Marx: so anyways</p><p>Marx: wanna talk about what you said while we were in the mirror taranza ( ͡~ ͜ʖ ͡°)</p><p>Taranza: MARX THIS IS NOT A TOPIC TO TALK ABOUT AT 2 AM</p><p>Taranza: But... if you want to know</p><p>Taranza: I meant it 💖</p><p>Marx: d'awww</p><p>Marx: ily2 man</p><p>Marx: and you too mags, you goddamn lurker</p><p>Magolor: Shut I am working on code.</p><p>Magolor: ...But I love you guys too 💙</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I had fun writing this!! This won't be the end of my kirby fics tho. I still have some things up my sleeve ;)</p><p>also i want to say i love that this chapter's url is /69666960. wonderful</p>
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